footsteps in the sand

EASTERN AIRWAYS IN-FLIGHT
Yours to keep
FOOTSTEPS IN
THE SAND
Walking the Great British coastline
ALSO IN THIS MAGAZINE:
GINO D’ACAMPO
ARTISAN DRINKS
ENERGY EXTRA SUPPLEMENT
53 | Autumn 2015
WELCOME
Welcome to Eastern Airways Magazine, the inflight magazine of Europe’s
Gold award-winning airline.
Eastern Airways news this issue focuses on the increased
frequency of our services between Leeds Bradford and
Southampton.
Elsewhere in the magazine, three themes come to the fore. In
the year that marks the 50th anniversary of the Pennine Way
we take the first of what we hope will be regular forays along
the Great British coastline as we celebrate the aspiration to
complete a path round our entire shore. We begin by meeting
a man who guides walkers across treacherous sands in the
name of the Queen herself.
Still on the theme of walking, Olly Davy travels somewhat
higher than sea level as he enjoys an early summer adventure
in Norway’s Trollheimen National Park.
Our celebrity interview is with that bubbly Italian king of the
kitchen (and jungle), Gino D’Acampo, as he embarks on a
tour that takes in several Eastern Airways destinations. And
we meet Maunika Gowardhan, whose inspirational Indian
home cooking is now available in a beautifully printed book:
we suspect she might also be destined for the small screen
before too long.
looks at the world of “craft” drinks. Victoria Trott raises a
glass or two in Mumbles, the real ale capital of Wales, while
we also pop in to see what’s on offer at England’s second
whisky distillery, which also does a mean line in gin and
vodka. We also reveal what the celebrated Victorian poet,
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, has to do with real ale.
Our motoring man Norman Burr swallows his petrol-head
pride to write about a man whose articulated Reliant is
providing a nationwide funeral service with something of a
difference.
Jonathan Jones brings a personal touch to our Exploration
Express as this Scots-born writer goes in search of his family
roots in Wales, while Harry Pearson rediscovers the world of
vinyl.
In our Energy Extra supplement, Graeme Smith takes the
temperature of the offshore industry as it continues to adapt
to low oil price reality.
We hope you enjoy your flight with Eastern Airways – do take
your magazine away with you for family and friends to enjoy.
To wash all that lot down, we take the first of our new-style
THE EASTERN TEAM
FÀILTE
CROESO
VELKOMMEN
BIENVENUE
Tha Eastern Airways a’ cur fàilte
air ar luchd-cleachdaidh gu lèir
bho Bhreatainn agus an Roinn
Eòrp.
Croeso gan Eastern Airways
magazine, i bob un o’n
cwsmeriaid ym mhob rhan o
Brydain Fawr ac Ewrop.
Eastern Airways magasinet
ønsker våre kunder i
Storbritannia og Europa
velkommen.
Bienvenue à tous nos clients de
Grande-Bretagne et d’Europe
de la part de Eastern Airways
magazine.
Tha Eastern Airways am measg
prìomh làn-sheirbheisean adhair
clàraichte na RA. Tha sinn an
dòchas gum meas sibh ar
seirbheis, an dà chuid,
cùramach agus beagan
eadar-dhealaichte – tha sinn
an-còmhnaidh toilichte ur
beachdan mun t-seirbheis
againn, is mu ar n-iris, a
chluinntinn.
Mae Eastern Airways ymhlith y
prif gwmnïau awyrennau yn y
DU sy’n cynnig amserlen lawn o
wasanaethau. Gobeithio y
gwelwch chi fod ein gwasanaeth
yn un gofalus ac ychydig bach
yn wahanol – rydyn ni bob
amser yn falch o gael eich
sylwadau am ein gwasanaeth ac
am ein cylchgrawn.
Eastern Airways er et av
Storbritannias ledende
ruteflyselskap. Vi håper at du vil
være fornøyd med servicen vår
– og at den tilbyr deg det lille
ekstra som er prikken over i-en.
Vi setter alltid pris på å motta
dine kommentarer om både
servicen og magasinet.
Eastern Airways figure parmi les
principales compagnies
aériennes britan­niques offrant
un service de vols réguliers.
Nous espérons que vous nous
trouverez attentifs à vos
besoins, avec ce petit plus qui
fait la différence, et sommes
toujours heureux de recevoir vos
comment­aires sur notre service
et notre magazine.
EASTERN-TEAMET
TÎM EASTERN
SGIOBA EASTERN
L’ÉQUIPE EASTERN
STAUFF are proud to sponsor
Team WD-40 in their challenge for this
years British Superbike championship
Stainless steel DIN 2353 tube connectors
STAUFF in collaboration with world renowned Volz now provide this quality stainless steel product.
Tarran MacKenzie celebrating his recent win at Knockhill
Make better connections!
CONTENTS
CONTENTS
34 POWERFUL POWYS
30 STILL LIFE
REGULARS
COMPETITION
24 FOLLOW THE LEADER
FEATURES
07NEWS
What’s happening around Eastern
12ONLY FOOLS AND
HEARSES
Carried away in the spirit of Del
Airways destinations
Boy and Rodney
11PRODUCTS
Really smart watches and
14L AND OF THE TROLLS
cool cases
Early summer hiking in Norway’s
Trollheimen National Park
34 EXPLORATION EXPRESS
Jonathan Jones discovers his
roots in Mid Wales
38BARE ESSENTIALS
Eastern Airways’ network map,
passenger information, essential
goings-on and destination guides
48ESSENTIAL GUIDE:
RECORD SHOPS
All within easy reach of Eastern
18 TALE OF TWO CHEFS
Gino D’Acampo and Maunika
37GOLF BREAK
WIN an exclusive break
at the fabulous new Crowne Plaza
Aberdeen Airport hotel
ENERGY EXTRA
Gowardhan talk about their
passion for their native cuisines
24 FOOTSTEPS IN THE SAND
A look at quirky places to walk
around Britain’s coastline –
starting at Morecambe Bay
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS AND FUTURE PROSPECTS IN THE ENERGY WORLD • AUTUMN 2015
FRESH FIELDS
– new development in North Sea
– cutting the impact of oil price slump
28 NICHE MARKET
Our new series on craft drinks
Airways destinations
begins with a look at micro
distilleries and brewery taps
50THE LAST WORD
Harry Pearson gets his teeth into
the subject of ferrets…
Front cover: Morecambe Bay © Leadinglights / istock.com
Fly easternairways.com
Eastern Airways in-flight magazine is published
for Eastern Airways by Gravity Magazines, Arch
Workspace, Abbey Road, Pity Me, Durham, DH1 5JZ
www.gravity-consulting.com
e-mail: [email protected]
Tel: +44 (0)191 383 2838
Publisher: Stan Abbott
Design: Barbara Allen
Print: Buxton Press
i
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
ENERGY EXTRA
© September 2015. All rights reserved. No part of this
magazine may be reproduced by any means, without prior
written permission of the copyright owners.
Although every effort has been made to ensure the
accuracy of the information in this magazine, neither the
publisher, nor Eastern Airways can accept any liability for
errors or omissions.
ISSN: 2044-7124
Previously known as e-magazine, ISSN 1477-3031.
Eastern Airways, Schiphol House, Humberside
International Airport, Kirmington, North Lincolnshire
DN39 6YH
Communications Manager: Darren Roberts
Telephone: + 44 (0)8703 669669
Reservations: + 44 (0)8703 669100
www.easternairways.com
For magazine comments:
[email protected]
To advertise in Eastern Airways Magazine, call Liz Reekie on +44 (0) 7563 796103 / +44 (0) 1434 240947 or email [email protected]
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NEWS FROM EASTERN AIRWAYS DESTINATIONS
NEWS
NEW SERVICE BENEFITS BUSINESS TRAVELLERS
Eastern Airways has introduced an
additional afternoon service on its key
business route from Leeds Bradford to
Southampton.
Leeds Bradford and the 0820, 1630 and
1835 flights from Southampton. Sunday
services leave Leeds Bradford at 1650
and Southampton at 1845.
Frequency on the route was increased
from three to four daily weekday
returns, from September 14.
Kay Ryan, Eastern Airways’
Commercial Director, said: “The
introduction of the afternoon service
allows us to offer more choice and is a
quicker, more convenient alternative to
road or rail.”
A new 1215 departure from
Southampton arrives at Leeds Bradford
at 1325. The return service from
Leeds departs at 1450, arriving in
Southampton at 1600.
These new flights complement the
0640, 1035 and 1705 services from
Bargate, Southampton
Fast track security channels are
offered at both Leeds Bradford and
Southampton airports for all Eastern
Airways passengers to avoid any
security search queues.
Leeds city skyscape
Coliseum, Rome
CAPTURE THIS
Fancy a weekend break that’s
just that bit special? Humberside
Airport is offering luxury “Weekends
to Capture”.
The weekends include a “private
jet experience” with a personalised
service delivered by specially
trained cabin crew.
Also included are exclusive
private check-in, private
champagne breakfast in the
airport’s Aviator Bar, and
complimentary airport parking.
2016 Flights
RENTAL GROWTH BOOMS IN YORK
York has Britain’s highest rental growth,
according to a survey by CBRE, the
commercial property and real estate
services adviser
Yorkshire.com / Southampton City Council
CBRE’s British Living: A Town and City
Compendium reveals the local trends
and buyer characteristics across 29 of
Britain’s towns and cities.
It says that many regions are now once
again flourishing following the global
financial crisis, and highlights how cities
such as York have witnessed a significant
26 per cent average rental growth during
the last 12 months alone, in comparison
with the nation’s four per cent and two
per cent across Yorkshire and Humber.
Mike Gorman, senior director at
CBRE Leeds, said: “This recent report
really demonstrates the growth in
the residential market in the North of
England, in particular York which remains
a popular place to live due to its rich
ancient history and attractive villages.
“House prices in York increased by three
per cent last year and now stand at an
average £228,907. This is 44 per cent
higher than the regional average, and
reflects a buoyant local economy with
just five per cent unemployment and
above average earnings of £35,177.
The underlying demand created by
this demographic, as well as young
professionals, has pushed rents up an
astonishing 26 per cent last year to stand
at £901 pcm.”
Mr Gorman also had positive words
for Leeds: “With its thriving economy
and distinctive skyline, Leeds is fast
blossoming into a hub of commercial and
creative activity. Over the last 20 years,
more jobs have been created in Leeds
than any other regional city. Leeds is
certainly on the up.”
PISA April 29-May 2
MADRID May 6-8
VENICE May 20-22/September 23-25
DUBROVNIK May 27-30
ROME June 3-5
BORDEAUX June 10-12
BARCELONA June 17-19/
September 30-October 2
Weekends can be booked
through Humberside Airport Travel
shop (call 01652 682000) or your
local travel agent. Flight-only travel
can be booked through
the Eastern Airways website,
www.easternairways.com
Place de la Bourse, Bordeaux
EASTERN AIRWAYS MAGAZINE COMPETITION WINNER
The winner of our competition in issue 52 to win an exclusive two-night break at Jesmond Dene House Hotel, Newcastle,
was Nicolette du Rieu, of Aberdeen.
7
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NEWS FROM EASTERN AIRWAYS DESTINATIONS
n Fourteen leading lights in
Southampton’s Asian and ethnic
community have been put forward
for the Unity 101 Community
Award. They include campaigners,
charity fundraisers and a former
Southampton mayor. The award is
aimed at inspiring other city residents
to give their time for the benefit of
the community and is part of Unity
101’s tenth anniversary celebrations.
The winner will be announced in
public at a show in January. Unity
101 is the south of England’s Asian
and ethnic radio station.
NEW HOTEL OPENS AT ABERDEEN AIRPORT
The 165-room hotel is one of two brand
new Crowne Plazas at Eastern Airways
destinations.
Just 100 metres from the passenger
terminal, the new Crowne Plaza
Aberdeen Airport is just a five-minute
stroll from the airport.
Business facilities include a conference
centre with its own entrance and ten
state-of-the-art meeting rooms, one
with views of the airport’s runway. Four
major business parks are nearby (ABZ,
D2, Aberdeen Gateway and Prime
Four). The hotel can provide transport
to and from these as well as the nearby
heliport.
The Crowne Plaza Aberdeen Airport
will also include a gym, complimentary
high-speed Wi-Fi, USB charging points
in bedrooms, a Starbucks cafe and 24hour room service
Sean Brookes, Chief Operating Officer
of owner Dominvs Hospitality, said:
“Aberdeen is a growth market for
Dominvs Hospitality and following the
success of the Holiday Inn Express,
which opened in May, we are delighted
to be able to open a deluxe four-star
hotel at Aberdeen International Airport.
The Crowne Plaza Aberdeen Airport
will add a different dynamic and
quality, complementing the Holiday Inn
Express.”
The second Crowne Plaza opening is
the brand’s 251-room four-star offering
in Newcastle’s Stephenson Quarter,
overlooking the River Tyne.
The seven-storey hotel also boasts a
spa and wellbeing centre, restaurant,
banqueting suite, and bar area, as well
as a conferencing suite and adaptable
meetings rooms.
n Best Western Plus Hardwick Hall
Hotel, Sedgefield, has been awarded
the TripAdvisor Certificate of
Excellence for the fifth consecutive
year. The four-star hotel is among
just ten per cent of accommodation,
restaurants and attractions listed
on the international review site to
achieve this accolade.
While the hotel is part of the
InterContinental Hotels Group, it falls
under local ownership, which has
enabled several link-ups with North East
England suppliers, including Fentimans,
Wylam Brewery and the Lakes Distillery
(see page 30).
Grab a taxi on the mobile app…
An innovative “green” taxi firm in Northumberland is investing more than
£1 million in new technology as it aims to increase turnover by 50 per cent
in the next two years and create 350 jobs in the next three.
Phoenix Taxis is already the largest electric and hybrid taxi company in the
country and it has now bought Drivr award-winning technology that allows
people to “hail” and pay for a cab using a mobile app.
Gavin Forster Photography
Aberdeen Airport’s new Crowne Plaza
Hotel is open for business!
n Derby is the second best city in
the UK in which to make a living,
according to a report by credit
comparison website TotallyMoney.
com. The ranking is thanks to low
living costs and a healthy jobs
market. The report based its findings
on wages compared to mortgage
payments, the cost of living and
the local jobs market in 64 towns
and cities. Derby was beaten only
by Blackburn, while Sunderland is
ranked the fourth best in the UK.
Cambridge came in third, while
London could only manage 26th
position and Birmingham was 30th.
Cabs on offer include the 100 per cent electric sports car Tesla Model S,
and the Lexus GS 300H Hybrid.
Managing Director, Alex Hurst, said: “This is a very exciting time for us.
Drivr has provided us with a huge vote of confidence by teaming up with
us in an exclusive partnership agreement for the whole of the North East
of England.”
9
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So, you’re a digital pioneer and you were
first in line to buy your new Apple Watch.
Now, how about accessorising it?
Spigen has brought out a bespoke Apple
Watch accessory range to complement
its Slim Armor, Rugged Armor and Tough
Armor mobile phone collections
The new range includes Liquid Crystal
and Thin Fit designs for Apple Watch
owners who want to maintain the
product’s sleek design.
available in black, white, satin silver and
champagne gold.
The Armor range for the Apple Watch
comes in Slim, Rugged and Tough,
offering a range of protection levels as
well as colours.
Spigen’s Apple Watch Stand could be
thing for you, combining viewing “at a
comfortable angle” and charger slot.
All the products are available through
Carphone Warehouse at
www.carphonewarehouse.com
If you love your new Apple Watch so
much that you worry about it night, then
Apple Watch Liquid Crystal
NEW PRODUCTS
SMART ACCESSORIES FOR YOUR APPLE WATCH
The Liquid Crystal case comes in both
38mm and 42mm and, at substantially
less than a millimetre thick, adds almost
no weight at all. It’s made from clear
Thermoplastic polyurethane so you can
show off the watch’s true colours.
The Thin Fit case keeps the Apple
Watch slim and lightweight while
offering simplified protection. Made from
premium polycarbonate, it’s designed to
preserve the watch’s original form and is
LOOK WHAT’S NEW
n Samsonite, the luggage people, have focused on
weight for their latest range, with a range of colourful
cases for carry-on on checking in, all no more than 2.9kg.
www.samsonite.co.uk
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As you’d expect from a company
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However, if all that khaki is just
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11
MOTORING
TROTTING OFF IN STYLE
Our motoring correspondent Norman Burr bumps into a man who helps people
shuffle off this mortal coil. On three wheels – or even five…
Many years ago, when I was young
and the 70mph motorway speed limit
was even younger, I had a flat in Bristol
next to the Co-operative Funeral
Service depot. Sometimes I would
chat to the mechanics who maintained
the hearses and limousines. At the
time they were using Daimler Majestic
Majors with mighty 4.5-litre V8 engines
– huge stately-looking vehicles but
very well engineered, so much so
that one contemporary road test
described them as the world’s biggest
sportscars.
“It can’t do them any good, driving
around at 15mph all the time,” I
observed. “It’s not driving there at
15mph that knackers them,” grumped
the mechanic in reply. “It’s the 120mph
on the M4 on the way back!”
12
Nowadays, things are much more
sensible, and when Uncle Albert goes to
his final resting place, he will probably
arrive in a stretched diesel Mercedes. It
too is probably capable of 120mph, but
no-one is ever going to find out. Least of
all Albert.
But supposing he’d had a twinkle in his
eye to the very end, and would have
appreciated something different. What
are the options open to his nearest and
dearest? In 2015, speed is a no-no, but
how about an almost complete absence
of speed? Or taste? Or glamour?
Enter designer funerals, and more
particularly Darren Abey, proprietor of
Only Fools & Hearses. The 48-year-old,
is a great fan of the similarly named TV
series and in 2012 hit upon the idea
of acquiring one of the Reliant threewheeled vans from the show and using
it to tow a hearse made from – you
guessed it – another Reliant van.
Since then the ensemble has taken
centre stage – second only to Albert of
course – at some 16 funerals all over the
UK. “When you drive up some people
laugh, some cry, some are just stunned!”
says Darren. “It certainly breaks the ice.”
At the risk of being urged to go and get
some fresh air, I must record that despite
the Mail Online describing the rig as a
Reliant Robin, there is in fact no Robin in
it at all. The hearse is a stretched version
of the subsequent model, the Rialto,
minus the oily bits up front, while the tow
vehicle is the Robin’s predecessor, the
Regal.
Darren’s day job is providing motorcycle
transport for dealers, race teams
and enthusiasts generally, using
his Mercedes Sprinter van which,
conveniently, is large enough to
accommodate the Regal and has
a tow hitch on the back to pull the
hearse. The Regal is in reasonable
fettle mechanically, but it wouldn’t stay
that way if it had to travel hundreds of
miles to and from every funeral. And
it wouldn’t do for it to break down: for
Albert to be late for his own funeral
would make him look a right plonker.
In between funerals, Darren uses the van
for local errands and the grubby yellow
box is a common sight, accompanied
by a cheery “Ah-ooo-Gaaa” from its
klaxon whenever he spies someone
he knows. I joined him for a quick spin
and immediately discovered that this
1973 Regal Supervan III, to give it its full
was “a bit of a smoker” and, although this
one doesn’t burn oil, Darren can create
the required oily plume at will, simply by
pressing the windscreen washer button.
Yes, I know that sounds perverse, but the
bit you’re missing is that the washer bottle
is filled with diesel, not water, and the outlet
pipe is connected not to the washer jets but
the exhaust, via a solenoid. One press on
the button and – hey presto! – the solenoid
opens and the washer pump squirts
neat diesel into the exhaust. The result
does nothing for rearward visibility (or the
environment) and would have embarrassed
Rodney no end.
© Guzelian
Darren Abey,
Only Fools & Hearses
outside JP Dell Funeral
Directors to whom he
rents out the vehiicle
title, is not very super at all. It’s noisy, bumpy,
slow and the passenger seat has lost most
of its padding, so your backside is wedged
into the steel frame. But the good news is
that you are sitting on leopard-skin fabric – in
fact the interior is leopard-skin everything,
complemented by a furry steering-wheel
cover and the inevitable furry dice. It’s all
neatly done and all gloriously tasteless.
Outside there’s a battered matching suitcase
on the roof, while the yellow paint has been
“grubbified” with some deftly sprayed black
smears from a can of Halford’s finest, to give
that authentic Peckham look.
The Banksy touch is continued on the
hearse, but in other respects Albert has
much the better deal. On his carriage, the
yellow paint shines and the interior features
quality woodwork. He even gets alloy
wheels. Depending on how far from Darren’s
Fleetwood, Lancashire, base they are, his
family will have paid between £650 and £850
to send him off in style.
When I rode in the van, the system was
having an off day. Apparently, bits of debris
from the washer bottle sometimes find their
way to the solenoid and prevent its valve
from seating properly; then the system
acquires a mind of its own, firing random
squirts of diesel into the exhaust at the most
inconvenient moments, like when you are
sitting at traffic lights with the window open
and a stiff tailwind blowing. Then the cockpit
smells like the south end of a northbound
Transit on full throttle, with 350,000 miles on
the clock.
Despite all this fun and games, Only Fools
& Hearses is a serious business proposition
and Darren knows full well that there are
some points in a funeral when the joviality
has to stop. Punctuality, courtesy, and dress
code are essential ingredients of a funeral
package and, judging by the reaction of his
customers, he has a good grasp of what is
needed and when.
He’s pleased with the success of his Del Boy
funerals, but obviously they are something
of a specialised market. So this year the
entrepreneurial Darren instigated another
project which he hopes will have a much
broader appeal.
No trace of Trotter Chic this time: he now
has on offer Britain’s first sporting hearse,
an immaculate white stretched flat-bad
Transit covered with Astroturf and a suitably
Since Darren reckons the whole rig stands
him at around £10,000, it has already paid
for itself. Running costs are not high: fuel
consumption is at least 40mpg, even though
the original 750cc engine has been replaced
by a later 850cc unit to give more hearselugging power. There’s no road tax to pay
because it’s a classic(!), and as neither seat
belts nor emissions tests were required back
in 1973, the MoT test is a simple affair.
The van may not have belts but it does
have plenty of emissions. Del Boy’s steed
A sporting hearse
decorous polished wooden perimeter.
Behind the cab, which is equipped with rooflights and a fine collection of LEDs, is room
for photos, regalia, scarves, rosettes – all
the memorabilia of the deceased’s sporting
passion, be it football, rugby, tennis or
whatever. The deep flat sides of the bed can
accommodate yet more mementoes and a
suitable trophy can be displayed on or near
the coffin, while to complete the send-off, a
top-notch sound system can play the team
anthem.
Sending Albert off in this kind of style is all a
bit out of Del Boy’s league. But I bet Boycie
will be on the phone before the year is out.
www.onlyfoolsandhearses.co.uk
www.sportsthemedfunerals.co.uk
NORWAY
14
Olly Davy runs into a spot of snow
beneath light night skies on an early
summer hiking adventure high in the
mountains of Norway’s Trollheimen
National Park…
Snow. The path is invisible under thick stacks of it. The pass we are
heading for is shrouded in swirling clouds of the stuff. To keep going we
have two options: walk across a frozen lake, or ford the icy torrent pouring
from it. Neither is appealing. When my two companions and I decided
on an early summer trip to Norway, this is not necessarily what we were
expecting.
We are in Trollheimen (Home of the Trolls) National Park to enjoy a
smidgen of Norway’s 20,000 km trail network by walking The Triangle,
a (typically) three-day hike between mountain lodges. The cabins are
managed by DNT (the Norwegian Trekking Association) and more than
400 of them offer sleeping accommodation. We plan to camp, but it’s nice
to know we have the option of a roof should things turn gnarly.
Midnight sunset near Joldalshytta
The first leg of the “triangle” from
Gjevilvasshytta to Joldalshytta.
Right: the author takes a breather at a
remote cabin near the River Svartåa
We sit around the fire, gazing towards the snow-dappled mountains
swelling above the far shore of Lake Gjevilvatnet. Before we know it, it is
midnight but still not dark. Squashed in the tent I use earphones to
>>
drown out my shuffling comrades with Edvard Grieg. Like many
British children, the soundtrack to a certain theme park’s adverts
was my first encounter with the famous Norwegian composer. Apt,
because I am as excited as a kid the night before a theme park visit.
Following the trail of red Ts painted on rocks and tree trunks, we leave
our campsite in high spirits. Before long, woodland gives way to open
mountain and what was a stream is now a river, roaring under shelves
of sculpted ice. Snowcapped peaks rear up on three sides and the
frozen lake blocks our path. Frustrated, we haul ourselves to the top
of a mountain to the east, for a while following what we later discover
are wolverine tracks. This muscular carnivore weighs up to 25 kg and
takes down reindeer. We hope it does not have a taste for sweaty
Englishmen.
Surveying the massive wilderness from 1,400m I feel a lurch
somewhere inside; the landscape as defibrillator, shocking my citybound soul back to life. We decide to try the triangle anti-clockwise
instead. A cross-country scramble, our feet sinking in snow to the
thigh, and we pick up the trail again, where a herd of reindeer browse
among willow saplings.
All our attention is focused on spotting the markers poking above
the desert of frozen water. A thought occurs to me that, with their
red spots, they look like the tailplanes of downed Japanese aircraft.
Occasionally our approach disturbs ptarmigan, which flap away
squawking. At midnight we are rewarded with a spectacular sunset,
the deep red of the heavens reflected in Lake Jølvatnet.
After 14 hours and 30 km we arrive at Jøldalshytta and there is no
question of pitching the tent. A Thermos of coffee appears and we are
shown to a cabin, where a fire is soon blazing. The sun is rising when
we climb into our sleeping bags. It is 2.30 am.
It is now Day Two and today we must cover only 16 km. Breakfast is
washed down with animal tales from cabin manager, Carl. “The ones
to watch are musk oxen,” he explains. “Aging males are grumpy and
fearless.” Suitably warned we head west, following the River Svartåa,
under the looming south face of Trollhetta.
The valley is dotted with lonely, unoccupied homesteads, cabins that
have endured hundreds of winters. Most have torvtak (turf roofs),
constructed with sods on top of birch bark. When wet, the increased
weight compresses the logs, making the walls more draught-proof.
Towards evening, the path veers away from the river, whose
gentle banks have become a ravine, and barks herald our arrival
at Trollheimshytta, where we meet rosy-cheeked Elin, in gilet and
gaiters, bustling her dogs inside. “Summer is late,” she says. “You’re
the first to attempt the triangle on foot.”
We camp by the River Slottåa, lulled to sleep by the sound of water.
Tomorrow we attempt to complete the circuit. Failure could mean
missing our flight.
The morning is misty with poor visibility and the next three hours are
hell: squelching through an energy-sapping bog. We emerge on a
marshy plain, where the surrounding summits are obscured but snow
pokes underneath the low cloud like petticoats. It seems an ancient
place. I would not be surprised to see a diplodocus chewing on the
treetops.
Birch trees and bridges – navigating Trollheimen’s river valleys
The sandy shore of Lake Gjevilvatnet
Natural refreshment with Lake Gjevilvatnet in the background
Made it. The final leg of the triangle
Traditional cabin with torvtak roof
At 800m we hit snow again, so walking poles become probes to
test the ground ahead. Near Mount Hyttdalskamben, above which
two white-tailed eagles ride the updraft, we arrive at a half-buried
wooden sign. Lake Gjevilvatnet glints below us. We have made it
through the pass.
Near the water we are greeted with a cheery “Hei hei!” by two
Norwegian campers but decide to push on rather than blight their
evening with our aroma. The mess of rocks on the beach is like
a giant tray of smashed toffee, turning ankles and sending us
stumbling.
Finally, the paved road dotted with well-kept holiday homes. There is
the beech wood and our first campsite. Elated but out of coffee, we
celebrate with boiled Werther’s Originals and slugs of whisky. In this
land of expensive government-controlled booze Norwegians have a
word for drinking at home before a night out: forspill, literally foreplay.
Sadly this particular tipple will lead only to passing out under nylon.
The following afternoon we are at Oppdal station inspecting our
blisters and waiting for the train to Trondheim. I pet a huskymalamute cross and chat to its owner, Monica, a 22 year-old
student. They have been on many adventures together. Once she
graduates she plans to walk the length of Norway. Dino will share the
load. Monica seems the perfect embodiment of friluftsliv – free air
life – reflecting a deep-rooted enchantment with nature. “It must be
awful living in a city,” she says. After a taste of the adventure Norway
has to offer, I am inclined to agree.
Eastern Airways’ codeshare partner, Widerøe, flies from Aberdeen to
Stavanger and Bergen and from Newcastle to Stavanger. Connecting
Eastern Airways flights from throughout the UK and onward Widerøe
connections to Norwegian destinations. Trondheim is the nearest
airport to Trollheimen National Park.
17
FOOD
The charismatic celebrity chef
Gino D’Acampo loves living almost
as much as he does freshly cooked
pasta and tomato sauce. Shaun
Curran interviews him ahead of his
first ever UK theatre tour…
Presenter and chef Gino D’Acampo has been Italy’s
number one Anglophile for nearly 20 years, and for
the majority of that time – through his career as TV
cook and as winner of 2009’s I’m A Celebrity… Get
Me Out of Here – the effervescent D’Acampo has
called the UK home.
The bubbly Italian accent leaves you in no doubt
as to his birthplace (Naples, to be exact) but after
honing his talents in kitchens across Europe,
D’Acampo moved to London in 1995, aged just 19,
to work in the Orchard Restaurant, in Hampstead.
He was continuing his family’s culinary lineage; his
grandfather was the head chef for Costa Cruises.
He now lives in Hertfordshire with his wife, Jessica,
and their three children.
D’Acampo has slowly earned his reputation for
specialising in simple, traditional Italian food. He has
his own ingredient range, Bontà Italia, and a newlyopened restaurant, Gino D’Acampo: My Pasta Bar;
both business interests he balances with his TV work,
(including frequent appearances on This Morning).
Surprisingly, he is not always the one at the chopping
board at home. “Not always – on a Sunday, Jessie will
cook for all of us and we all really look forward to it.
We have people over for dinner parties, which I much
prefer to flashy showbiz bashes. I’d much prefer to be
at home with my family than go out.”
D’Acampo can be lured out of the house to support
a cause he believes in. Always keen to promote
Italian cuisine, the chef recently took part in the 65th
anniversary celebrations for the renowned London
café Bar Italia, one of Soho’s most famous landmarks.
To help the fourth-generation Italian owners,
D’Acampo presented a pasta cooking demonstration.
“Food isn’t a job to me: it is a lifestyle and a belief,
so I love spreading the word about Italian food, I do
it in any way that I can. I want to show people that it
is easy to cook fantastic meals with basic but tasty
ingredients. Anyone can do it!” During his day at Bar
Italia, D’Acampo revealed his number one cooking
tip.
18
Asparagus, ricotta, chilli and parmesan tartlets and, next page, grilled
avocado stuffed with tomatoes, spring onions, olives and capers –
recipes from Gino’s Veg Italia! published by Hodder & Stoughton.
Food images © David Munns. Gino D’Acampo image © Kate Whitaker
“I often say that people should cook from the heart.
And you should only cook when you’re happy – it
really makes a difference to be in a frame of mind to
enjoy what you are doing. People should also never
be afraid to try new things – you’ll be surprised and >>
A TALE OF TWO CHEFS: GINO D’ACAMPO
“I want to show people that it is easy
to cook fantastic meals with basic but
tasty ingredients.”
delighted at what you can achieve, and the
choice has never been greater.”
Aside from his showbiz career and skills in
the kitchen, D’Acampo is vocal about his
passion for living in the “beautiful location”
of Hertfordshire. The 38-year-old’s love
affair with England began as soon as he
saw a house there more than a decade
ago.
his reality TV stint on I’m a Celebrity…
Chomping on bugs and insects is an
altogether different taste sensation from
dining on carbonara and meat balls, but
that wasn’t a problem for the chef, who
won the public vote.
“It was an amazing thing to do and it was
even better to win. Most people only knew
me through daytime TV, so to be on prime
time in the jungle was totally different and
He is now in his third UK home, bought for
took me to a whole
over half a million
new audience. So it
pounds. It was,
Dates for Gino’s Italian Escape Live! tour
was great that they
as he laughs, “in
near Eastern Airways destinations:
voted for me. But
a bad state and
food is my passion
October 30 – York Barbican
needed a lot of
November 2 – Cambridge Corn Exchange and I missed it
work”. But the
terribly; talking
November 3 – Wolverhampton Civic Hall
work has mostly
about it, buying it,
November 5 – Aberdeen Music Hall
been done, and
cooking it.”
November 6 – Tyne Theatre, Newcastle
D’Acampo would
November 7 – Ipswich Regent
Tellingly, D’Acampo
happily talk about
says the biggest
his house all
lesson was not about his own endeavours,
day. The enthusiasm with which he talks
but what he discovered once he returned
about most things is infectious, but his
to England. “I suppose one of the
new home is his absolute favourite topic
most important things I learnt from the
of conversation. “I love it!” he says with
experience was that life goes on without
a smile. “We have a big garden; there’s a
me – my family, my business, they could
swimming pool, and we keep chickens. I
all carry on without me being there. It was
love them. I love getting up in the morning
a big lesson for me.”
and collecting the eggs.”
But it’s not just his four walls that
keep D’Acampo in England. “We have
wonderful, friendly neighbours, the
schools are excellent for the kids and there
are nice shops, too. I go out riding my
mountain bike at the weekend. There’s lots
for us to do.”
Yet for all of his expertise in the kitchen,
many people recognise D’Acampo for
What the jungle experience did for
D’Acampo most significantly, though, was
expose him to the point that over 15 years
since he made England home, his celebrity
profile has never been bigger.
“That was the best thing. It meant from
the moment I got out, I have been so
busy, busier than ever. And long may it
continue!”
LIKE A FEW OTHER
CELEBRITY CHEFS WE
MIGHT NAME, GINO
D’ACAMPO’S SHORT
CAREER TO DATE HAS
BEEN COLOURFUL
He made his name on BBC’s Ready Steady
Cook and, more recently, has regularly
appeared on ITV’s This Morning. In January
2011, he cooked gammon and Italian mushy
peas completely naked on the show the day
after its success at the National Television
Awards.
Since 2011, D’Acampo and Melanie Sykes
have hosted daytime cookery chat show Let’s
Do Lunch With Gino and Mel. The show has
aired for four series as well as three special
series at Christmas.
But life hasn’t always been plain sailing
for him – after his appearance on I’m a
Celebrity… it emerged that, aged 21, he had
served two years in gaol for burgling the
house of singer Paul Young and stealing his
guitar collection and a platinum disc. He was
sentenced under his real name, Gennaro.
While out in the jungle, D’Acampo and his
I’m A Celebrity co-star, Stuart Manning, were
charged with animal cruelty by Australian
police after unlawfully killing a rat.
D’Acampo is the current holder of six
Guinness World Records, most of which he
set or broke live on Let’s Do Lunch with Gino
And Mel:
•S
eptember 2011 – Guinness World Record
for “The most ravioli made in two minutes”;
22. This record was later broken by fellow
Italian chef Gennaro Contaldo. In 2013,
D’Acampo regained the record with 32.
•A
ugust 2012 – Guinness World Record for
“The most chocolate truffles made in two
minutes”.
•A
ugust 2012 – Guinness World Record for
“Running across custard for the longest
time”.
•D
ecember 2013 – Guinness World Record
for “The most bottles of champagne opened
in one minute”; seven.
•D
ecember 2013 – Guinness World Record
for “The most Christmas crackers broken
in one minute by a team of two”, with Keith
Lemon.
•D
ecember 2013 – Guinness World Record
with Melanie Sykes for “The most jumpers
put on in one minute” by managing 11 in
one minute.
20
A TALE OF TWO CHEFS: MAUNIKA GOWARDHAN
© Helen Cathcart
The rise and rise of the celebrity chef is a recent phenomenon that pretty much mirrors
the decline over a similar period of the traditional bookshop. But Stan Abbott is happy
to find examples of each working together and in rude health in rural Northumberland,
where he meets author and cook Maunika Gowardhan…
“Now that I live in Britain I cook the very
same curries and reminisce about the food
and emotions of Mumbai.” >>
21
For a couple of decades now the
doomsayers have predicted that the
Internet will spell the end of some of our
most enduring institutions, from Sunday
newspapers, to travel agents to bookshops.
Yet fine examples of all three still endure,
because at the end of the day quality and
customer experience do still count.
An example of an independent bookshop
that continues to thrive in the Amazon Age is
Forum Books, in the historic Northumberland
market town of Corbridge, perhaps best
known for its Roman fort.
I was a little puzzled as I looked at my
electronic diary, which, I confess, has
replaced its paper counterpart to the
undoubted loss of W H Smith. It said, simply
“Corbridge book signing, 1700”, but I was
struggling to remember who was actually
going to be signing what, later on that week.
Forum’s survival bucks a trend, with owner
Helen Stanton recording sales growth over
the four years since she bought the shop. A
year ago she opened a second, children’s
branch and cites a busy events programme
and interesting stock range among her
secrets for success. To that I will add an
engaging personality: I may have felt a bit
daft having to phone to find out about the
Recipes from Indian Kitchen
published by Hodder & Stoughton.
Image © Helen Cathcart
22
event, but she was soon telling me all about
the spiced smoky aubergine dish she’d
prepared specially. For this event was to
be a talk by Maunika Gowardhan, first-time
author of Indian Kitchen – Secrets of Indian
Home Cooking.
OK, I may have implicitly described Maunika
as a “celebrity chef”, which I guess may be
an arguable point as you won’t have seen
her as yet on your TV screen. You may,
however, have spotted her on Jamie Oliver’s
online channel, Food Tube, or caught up
with her at the celebrated Abergavenny
Food Festival; and I strongly suspect that her
personality, presence and extensive culinary
repertoire mean that it’s only a matter of time
before she acquires the celebrity tag that
goes with a TV persona.
It’s standing room only, not at Forum Books,
but at the local café now commandeered for
the event. Maunika has commanded quite
a turn-out, perhaps boosted by word that
Helen has been busy with the aubergines
and other recipes from Maunika’s collection.
Maunika is no loud and brash Gordon
Ramsay or Keith Floyd: if we’re going to talk
chef clichés, she’s more in the confidently
friendly and engaging mould of Lorraine
Pascal or Tom Kerridge, or maybe Rachel
Khoo, who conjures innovative delights from
her Little Paris Kitchen.
But why make comparisons? Maunika is
clearly her own woman with very much her
own ideas and therein lies her allure. On the
little podium, she immediately spells out
her USP: Indian food as your Indian mum
cooked it.
With presence and passion she describes
the genesis of her extensive range of recipes.
Although she now – in the way of a 21st
century citizen of the world – splits her time
between Newcastle, London and Mumbai,
it is the last of these, unsurprisingly, that has
inspired the dizzying breadth of her Indian
culinary knowledge.
She tells us how she learned all she knew
from watching her mother and grandmother
cook meals full of flavour – sharing the great
regional diversity of the country’s cuisine with
friends and marking festivals like Diwali.
“Now that I live in Britain I cook the very
same curries and reminisce about the food
and emotions of Mumbai.”
Such memories would include sorting
out the shopping with her mother as she
planned what she would cook with the
ingredients she had bought. It’s clear that
Maunika learned from the best, for the extent
of the recipes she was taught is not just
wide in a regional sense, but encompasses
specialities like Indian street food (“probably
mum’s way of getting us to stop eating
roadside chaat or ‘junk food’ as she would call
it”).
I am now and am only sorry for not having
discovered it for myself sooner!
As her mother shared her knowledge with her,
so she shares hers with hospital consultant
husband, Bharat, and son Johann. But she
is also driven to share it with the widest
possible audience, via her website (90,000 hits
a month), through her cookery classes and
tuition, her writing, and now through her book.
“A lot of the recipes I have are from my family’s
collection, which has been passed down
through the years, and which I have evolved
for a contemporary lifestyle and I continue to
travel to discover more about Indian cuisine.
I manage to pop a couple of questions into
the Q & A session, from which I learn that
she strongly recommends MMM Foods,
in Newcastle’s Grainger Market, not least
because they are happy to sell fresh spices in
smaller quantities than the industrial ones you
sometimes encounter at Asian supermarkets.
Catching up with Maunika post-Rasa, I’m
curious to know more about how everything
fits together: “I still travel to India for work
about two or three times a year,” she says.
“I have always travelled so I adjust to new
places quite easy. The hustle and bustle of
London is very similar to Mumbai so it’s like
home from home. I split my time between
London, Newcastle and Mumbai and the food
scene is very different in both countries. I enjoy
this diversity.
I also ask her which is her favourite Indian
restaurant in the city, to which her unhesitant
reply is Rasa, on Queen Street, because of
its focus on a range of vegetarian and other
dishes from Kerala.
“When I get some down time I read, which I
take advantage of when on long travels. Any
other spare time I will spend with my family.”
For family life, after all, is really her inspiration.
But how would she fancy sharing her recipes
with a TV audience? Could she make it to the
ranks of celebrity chefs?
Having tended to frequent another (very
good) one when in that part of town, I wasn’t
familiar with it. On Maunika’s recommendation,
“Yes, I’d love the experience!” she says
candidly. Spiced smoky aubergine coming to a
screen near you sometime soon!
Indian Kitchen – Secrets of Indian Home
Cooking, is published by Hodder &
Stoughton at £25.
It is beautifully illustrated and includes
an invaluable section on ingredients
for Indian cooking. It divides into five
themes, intriguingly but descriptively
entitled Hungry, Lazy, Indulgent,
Celebratory and Extras.
Michael Luckett
LEISURE
24
COASTAL WALKS
SHIFTING SANDS
Wales got one in 2014; England should have one by 2020; and there are
people in Scotland actively promoting one. When all these “ones” are finally
in place, Great Britain will have a long distance footpath, almost without
world rival – a series of formally designated national trails that will, together,
circumnavigate the entire British mainland, and a few major islands besides.
In celebration of this ambition, we’ll be taking an occasional look at some of
the quirkier places to walk on more than 5,000 miles of beautiful coastline.
Stan Abbott begins on the shifting sands of Morecambe Bay…
I’ve long been fascinated by two unerringly
straight bridleways, hatched green on the
large-scale Ordnance Survey map that covers the Furness area of Cumbria and North
Lancashire. They stretch across the widest
river estuaries, whose waters feed the vast
expanse of Morecambe Bay, suggesting
that all you have to do is set your compass
for the opposite shore and set out walking
across the sands.
Of course to do so would at best be hazardous and, at worst, signing one’s own death
warrant. Not without reason do these shifting
sands enjoy a reputation for danger that
goes before them.
Most notoriously, in the winter of 2014, at
least 21 illegal Chinese migrants hired by
Triad gang-masters drowned when they
were cut off by the incoming tide while picking cockles.
Two years previously, a father and son
drowned when they became disorientated in
fog as the tide rose around them, their plight
being the more horrific for being recorded on
a mobile phone while rescuers tried in vain
to locate them.
These days nobody really has to cross the
sands: you can take a rather circuitous drive
around the tidal inlets or, better, cross them
in a trice by train, on viaducts built defiantly
straight across the sands. But time was
when you and your horse would have had to
take your chances with an incoming tide that
could outrun or surround you. To mitigate
the risk, an official Guide to the Sands first
enjoyed royal appointment back in 1548, in
the year of the death of Catherine Parr, last
wife of Henry VIII and hailing from Kendal,
around these parts. There’s always been a
guide in post throughout the succeeding
centuries.
Today’s incumbent and the 25th such guide
is Cedric Robinson, one-time shrimper, who,
astonishingly, has been safely ushering folk
across the Bay for more than half a century. I
find myself waiting for the heralded arrival of
Cedric on the pier at the idyllic little Cumbrian resort of Arnside. We might have been
awaiting the Queen herself, rather than just
her Guide to the Sands (MBE), such seems
to be the anticipation among a crowd of a
hundred or two. Most of them, it seems, are
ardent followers of the geocaching craze, for
this is their “event”. Rather fewer of us are
there just for a walk, undiluted by hunting by
sat nav for hidden objects.
I’d been warned that Cedric would not stand
on ceremony on arrival and, indeed, when
we spot a lithe, wiry, bronzed figure of man >>
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looking a good 20 years younger than his
four decades and more, an immediate shift
from idle shuffle into top-speed walking
mode is called for.
Like the children of Hamelin we form a long
snake behind Cedric as he heads, ash stick
in hand, initially southwest along the shore.
We have travelled a mile or so, first along the
promenade, and then along the shoreline to
what I take to be a geocache hiding place,
as fellow walkers begin scrambling up the
low cliff. After a pause for refreshment, we
finally head out to sea.
Among our number is Paddy Dillon – the accomplished writer of guidebooks to walking
the world over and a resident of Furness, so
no stranger to crossing the sands. He recalls
that Cedric used to begin his crossings
further to the south. But one morning, following a stormy night, as he headed for the safe
route he’d marked out only the day before,
he was greeted only by a crescendo of noise
that sounded like a fleet of powerboats. It
turned out to be the sound of collapsing
sandbanks as the River Kent was in the process of finding a completely new course.
As we make our own crossing, it is soon
apparent that the channel of the Kent is nowhere near the route shown on the OS map,
but much more centrally located in Morecambe Bay. We had been warned that we’d
need to wade knee-deep at times on the
crossing, and as we reach the first stretch
of water to be forded, the children in the big
group enthusiastically head for the deepest
bits. After maybe another 45 minutes, we
are pretty much in the centre of Morecambe
Bay. It is a fabulous late June day: we’d been
warned to expect the air to be chilly on the
Bay, no matter the ambient temperature, but
today the wind is light and a warming sun
shimmers on the sands.
On the seaward south-westerly horizon, the
light plays tricks, as a silvery line divides
sand and sky, looking for all the world like an
advancing wave: it is just a distant sandbank. To the south, the nuclear power station
at Heysham sits like a giant block of Lego
and I fancy I can maybe just about make out
Blackpool Tower in the far distance. But the
finest view is to the north, where the Kent
estuary leads the eye directly into the heart
of the Lake District fells. We feel like tiny little
ants in the middle of the Sahara, staring at
the distant Atlas. Indeed, the sands have
sometimes been dubbed “the wet Sahara”.
A minimum wage there may be, but Cedric’s
27
OUR ENEMY OUT
HERE AT THE HEART
OF THIS YELLOW
OCEAN, IS QUICKSAND.
Cedric Robinson
role, however grand it may sound, falls far
short of it, being unchanged at £15 a year
since Tudor times, though he and his former
beauty queen wife, Olive, enjoy free use of
the cottage that comes with the job, at Kents
Bank, near Grange-over-Sands. In view of
this, says Terry Marsh, who invited me on
the trip and wrote an MA thesis on the “sand
pilots”, we may look favourably on giving
Cedric a tip upon our safe arrival at Kents
Bank.
Besides admiring followers like Terry and
Paddy, Cedric also has helpers, one with a
tractor and trailer, who assist him in mapping
a safe route ahead of what, these days, are
essentially leisure walks. Cedric marks these
routes with branches of laurel, alder or yew.
He coaxes these deep into the sand, so
they’ll withstand the comings and goings of
a few tides before finally being washed away.
Our enemy out here at the heart of this yellow ocean, is quicksand. The thing about
quicksand, explains Cedric, is that it tends
to be very deceptive. Only when you start to
move about on it, will it begin the inexorable
process of swallowing you up. And this it will
indeed do with gluttony.
In his book, Time and Tide, Cedric recalls the
loss of a drilling rig in the sands back in the
late 60s. It was part of a project to explore
the idea of a bridge or barrage across the
Bay. The book also instances the loss of
such other large objects as Range Rovers
and boats. Today, however, Cedric’s mate’s
tractor looks safe enough, standing on the
far shore of the Kent channel.
Now is the big moment at which we must
ford the river: it is, indeed, knee-deep as
promised, and the current is surprisingly
strong, so it requires a certain amount of
concentration not to loose one’s footing. It
takes probably 20 minutes for everyone to
make it across and the youngsters celebrate
by turning cartwheels on the sands.
We are now on the home straight, but it is
still some time and much further wading
before we finally reach the first tussocks of
marsh grass, marking the approach of the
coastline. I’m starting to flag, and Cedric
is miles ahead. Small wonder – he needs
to be on hand to join Olive, selling books
and collecting tips at Kents Bank station. A
kite-surfer tracks back and forth on the river
channel, reminding us that there are other
ways to enjoy the sands.
But to cross them, you need Cedric: “With
the unpredictable weather patterns and
frequent changes, it would need a miracle for
any lay person to cross in safety,” he attests.
“The rains now come with a vengeance, the
like of which we have never seen before,
with no let-up from stronger winds and
higher tides.
“That is a dangerous combination and brings
sudden, dramatic changes, not just in the
rivers but to the full extent of the Bay. Vast
areas of quicksand can form, where previously it had been safe.”
I reflect on these words as I drop my tip
in the box and buy the book. I had always
yearned to make this walk but never quite
got it together. I’m heartened, then, to read
the words of Sir Chris Bonington, who wrote
a foreword to the book, having crossed the
Bay with Cedric for the first time as recently
as 2012. It has taken our party about four
hours to make the trek but I am gratified
to have done so at a younger age than Sir
Chris, who does – after all, and unlike me –
live in Cumbria.
Arnside is about 90 minutes from Durham
Tees Valley Airport, with Eastern Airways
flights from Aberdeen
Time and Tide, by Cedric Robinson, is
published by Great Northern Books
27
CRAFT DRINKS
MICRO DISTILLERIES & BREWERY TAPS
The origins of the trend can
probably be traced back more than
40 years to the formation, in 1971,
of CAMRA, the Campaign for
Real Ale. But it’s undoubtedly true
that, in recent years, the consumer
appetite for quality drinks of
distinctive provenance has been
matched by the desire of a growing
craft industry not just to satisfy that
appetite, but to further stimulate the
desire for such “craft” products.
There may have been a slight time
lag, but right now labels like “locally
sourced”, “artisan-produced”,
“sustainably cultivated” and “from
a traditional recipe” are as much
in demand from people who want
to know what they are drinking as
they have become among those
conscious of what they are eating.
The result has been a virtuous circle
of niche producers bringing new
products to market and a public
eager for more new sensations.
Combine this with tax breaks for
micro-breweries and a relaxation
in the rules on distillation and
the result is an increasingly rich
diversity of drinks to whet the
palate.
From designer teas and coffees, to
organically brewed soft drinks, to
beers and ciders to biodynamic
wines and an abundance of local
gins and designer spirits – there
may never have been a better time
to enjoy a drink in Britain, be it
alcoholic or strictly sober.
28
We’ll be taking a look at some of
these new tastes in Eastern Airways
Magazine, beginning this issue
with visits to a new distillery and a
micro-brewery that’s breathing new
life into tired old pubs…
WELL VERSED IN
CASKS AND ALE
That the absolute number of pubs in the
UK is in steady decline is undoubtedly
true. It’s less clear, however, whether
there’s any single main cause for this
trend. Nor do the statistics tell the story
of the industry’s innovators who have
reinvented the how and the where of
selling drinks.
A favourite scapegoat is the pub
company, caricatured as rewarding a
pub’s success with demands for an ever
greater share of the profits. But these
companies would argue they are being
squeezed by the supermarkets and a
drift toward socialising at home rather
than the pub.
Wherever the truth may lie, there’s no
doubting that if ownership of all aspects
of the pub and the brewery are in the
same hands, then both must surely win.
Hence the rise of the “brewery tap” in
the micro-brewing sector.
This need not simply mean a brewery
in the loft above a pub: Sonnet 43 is
towards the smaller end of the microbrewery scale, producing only around
2,000 gallons of beer a week, but a big
proportion of that output is sold in the
brewery’s three pubs.
There are two simple observations.
Firstly there are no middlemen to inflate
costs. And secondly, Sonnet 43’s
arrangement has created from failing
pubs, three outlets that are now vibrant
features of their communities.
The entrepreneur behind Sonnet 43 is
Mark Hird, a man whose previous career
taught him most that there is to know
about the hospitality trade. But it was
after his wife bought him a three-day
course in brewing at Sunderland’s Beer
Lab that Mark crafted the plans for his
own brewhouse and brewery tap.
Sonnet 43 has come a long way in less
than three years since it opened at the
former Clarence Villa pub on the edge of
the former mining village of Coxhoe, a
few miles from Durham City.
As head brewer Michael Harker shows
me round the tight little brewery
premises to the side and rear of the
pub, he explains that, while the brewery
did open here, this is actually Sonnet
43’s third brewery tap. I had already
visited the Lambton Worm, on the A167
(the old A1) between Chester-le-Street
and Birtley, where I had found one of
those rather soulless, cavernous old
establishments utterly transformed
into a characterful bar with live music,
attractive restaurant and quirky hotel.
That formula, says Michael, has been
repeated at the White Lead gastrorestaurant and bar, in Hebburn, near
Jarrow. Brewery tap number three,
the Clarence Villa, employs a slightly
different formula, more geared to
its location, trading as the Italian
Farmhouse, recreating a rustic Latin
feel that is also replicated in one of the
outlets at Sunderland’s Roker Hotel,
belonging to Sonet 43’s sister company,
Tavistock Hospitality.
Sonnet 43 acquired its intriguing name
from the celebrated Victorian poet,
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, who was
born Elizabeth Moulton-Barrett and
raised at nearby Coxhoe Hall. She was
disinherited after marrying fellow poet
Robert Browning, moving to Italy, where
she died young, from lung disease.
Her most famous work, Sonnet 43, is
one of those poems with which many
of us have at least some familiarity. It
begins…
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
Drawing on the national, indeed
international profile of this former
daughter of its locale is a clever
statement of marketing intent, for
Sonnet 43’s ambition extends well
beyond North East England.
“We supply our own pubs, but we
also supply as far north as Edinburgh
and as far south as Manchester,”
says Michael. “A lot of breweries
try to aim for a specific market. We
have three traditional beers and a
couple of American craft beers. We
try to be a bit more experimental – we
wanted to appeal to as many different
demographics as possible.”
At the core of the Sonnet 43 offer
(“for the love of beer”) are five “core”
beers (there were six but “we wanted
to produce more pale ale”), including
Steam Beer, India Pale Ale, Brown
Ale and Bourbon Milk Stout. “We also
produce at least one ‘guest beer’
once a month,” says Michael. And
these can be quite eccentric, featuring
coffee, mead or champagne flavours.
His Insular Art beer, produced for the
Durham visit of the Lindisfarne Gospels,
won a CAMRA award.
Michael is unambiguous in his views on
the workings of the pub trade: “We deal
with a lot of tied chains now and we
know how pubs get screwed by their
ties. They are told what they can buy.”
Notwithstanding, he sees Sonnet
43’s future in supplying both its own
extending collection of brewery taps
and the wider trade, based on its firm
foundation of quality and strong identity.
“We can’t grow any further on the site
we’re on,” he says. “The intention long
term is to have a 20 or 30-barrel plant
and Mark would like to have eight to 12
outlets.”
So the search is on for suitable
premises in the area that could, in
principle, also accommodate a visitor
attraction.
At the Lambton Worm I already
discovered a visitor attraction in the
shape of Mark’s extensive collection of
autographed photographs. The walls of
the excellent modern British restaurant
are adorned with them, including many
of the biggest names in British and
American politics and showbiz. If the
food wasn’t so good (it is very good)
they would merit a visit in their own
right. As indeed does the refurbishment
of the 14 rococo en suite rooms,
accomplished impressively for less than
£200,000.
http://sonnet43.com
www.thelambton.com
RIGHT: Michael Harker with one of the
brewery’s distinctive pink casks:
“They’re much less likely to disappear.”
29
MICRO DISTILLERIES & BREWERY TAPS
BREWING UP A WINNER
When Stan Abbott last visited the intended site of England’s newest whisky distillery, it
called for a good imagination. He found himself delighted with the transformation when he
returned earlier this summer…
The rising tide of interest in “artisanproduced” drinks is such that there seems
to be something of a dearth of attractive
folksy old buildings to house and
complement a manufacturing process that
must draw heavily on both tradition and
innovation.
No steel hangar on an industrial estate at
the edge of town for the Lakes Distillery,
however. Rather, the team behind this bold
venture searched long and hard to find the
right combination of suitable buildings and
ideal water source before settling on a near
derelict Victorian “model farm”, disused for
20 years. Fortuitously it was also just a few
metres from the River Derwent, not far from
its exit from Bassenthwaite Lake on its
journey towards the Irish Sea.
Bringing the farm buildings back to life
produced a planning win-win for the Lake
District National Park Authority, which
would have been most unlikely to approve a
new build on this scale.
I was eager to see how the conversion had
been achieved, my abiding memory being
of red doors. Well, the red has gone and the
transformation is really quite remarkable,
with the predominant colour now a rather
more subdued and sophisticated grey.
30
The restored buildings house all the
functions of the distillery, including the
generously proportioned shop, the stills for
whisky, gin and vodka, and the warehouse
in which the first casks of Lakes Malt will
mature.
The buiidings before restoration and, above,
outdoor tables at the new bistro
We’re privileged that Paul Currie – the man
whose vision of a brand new English whisky
has driven this project – is our tour guide
today. Paul has form when it comes to
creating distilleries, being the man behind
the award-winning Arran Distillery, and he’s
keen to demonstrate how original features
have been retained in the buildings.
The Victorians were keen on a four-leaf
clover quatrefoil design, which appeared in
the masonry and this has been
enthusiastically adopted by the distillery –
more than 30 such designs can be found on
and in the various buildings and the four
“foils” are said to represent faith, hope, luck
and love.
This is an operation very much geared to
the abundant tourist market on the doorstep
and so Paul and his team have woven a
suitable back story – featuring tales of illicit
distillation in the Lakeland fells – to engage
visitors as they learn about the processes
behind creating the spirits. We are taken on
journey down the Derwent, from its source
at Sprinkling Tarn, high above Borrowdale,
and via the lakes of Derwentwater and
Bassenthwaite.
Paul proudly shows us the wash and spirit
whisky stills, affectionately named Susan
and Rachel after his own and Chairman
Nigel Mills’s wives. Mills is the Newcastle
entrepreneur whose backing has been
critical in realising the project.
Among innovations of note are the use
stainless steel for some of the condensers,
rather than the more traditional copper, and
experimentation with different types of cask
for maturation. Were this Scotland these
would have to be made from oak, but being
30 or so miles from the border means that
Paul and his team will be able to
experiment with other woods, such as
birch, acacia and maple. At present,
however, the spirit is being matured in high
quality Spanish oak, oloroso sherry
seasoned casks.
Although you can buy the innovative The
One blended whisky, you’ll have to bide
your time awaiting the single malt. No such
restraint is needed in respect of the Lakes
Gin, however. Remember, there may be
other Lake District gins, but only this one is
distilled here, using not just locally grown
juniper but also a botanicals mix that
includes bilberry, heather and
meadowsweet. The result is a truly
memorable gin, with which I would choose
a “local” Fentiman’s tonic (recommended
1:1, with no fruit!).
Customarily, distillery tours disgorge their
participants conveniently into the distillery
shop, but here there is another very
attractive alternative. Bistro at the Distillery
has been conceived and executed by the
celebrated Newcastle restaurateur, Terry
Laybourne, who has installed Andrew
Beaton, formerly of the acclaimed Miller
Howe, Windermere.
The former farm dairy is now home to a
ubiquitous dining offer, ranging from
lunches and afternoon snacks to a supper
offering that combines high quality with
competitive pricing.
I was pleased to note that at least half the
clientèle on a busy bistro evening were
clearly from the area, reinforcing the sense
that the distillery is already part of the local
landscape. The focus is emphatically on
local ingredients and I particularly enjoyed
my starter of trout cured in Lakes Gin, with
pickled cucumber and citrus fruits, which I
followed up with grilled fresh hake, with
crushed peas, tartare sauce and chips –
fish, chips and mushy peas par excellence!
I would strongly recommend combining a
visit to the distillery with a stay at another
part of the Mills empire, the Trout Hotel, at
nearby Cockermouth, perhaps also taking
in a whizz round Wordsworth’s Birthplace
Museum.
A recently approved planning application
for more car parking and extended hours at
the distillery suggests that the public at
large shares my enthusiasm for this bold
and exciting venture.
The Lakes Distillery is about 75 miles from
Newcastle Airport
www.lakesdistillery.com
www.trouthotel.co.uk
SHORTS…
COCKTAILS AND ALES
n Harviestoun Brewery has launched Lowland Glen Amber, a
new amber ale brewed exclusively for Marks and Spencer, at
Harviestoun, Clackmannshire, in the heart of Scotland. With its
deep copper colour and malty peach aroma, the beer’s high
Simcoe hop content gives it a fruity finish with malty undertones
(“great for barbecuses and curries”). The brewery is also known
for its collaboration with Orkney’s Highland Park whisky distillery,
in which Ola Dubh ale is matured in whisky casks.
n If you live in Leeds, Birmingham or Newcastle (or indeed
Manchester, Chester or Alderley Edge) then you really should
make a visit to The Botanist. I sampled the Newcastle Botanist,
in a distinctive glazed dome overlooked – closely – by no less a
drink connoisseur than Lord Earl Grey himself from his towering
city centre monument.
On one level The Botanist is a very clever way to persuade you
to part with a lot of money for a drink, but the atmosphere and
allure are so infectious you can easily forget that. And given the
numbers of your fellow drinkers, you certainly aren’t the only one
in that frame of mind.
I enjoyed an excellent saffron gin but the range of botanical
cocktails, craft beers and ales and quality wines and champagnes
is mind-boggling. Add well trained serving staff and a varied
range of bar meals and nibbles, including favourites like Scotch
eggs and pork crackling, and what’s not to like? SA
WHISKY
n The Norfolk-based English
Whisky Company’s Chapter
14 has been named Best
Whisky from Europe in Jim
Murray’s 2015 Whisky Bible.
n The market for investing
in and collecting rare whisky
continues to boom, with
a record number of rare
bottles sold at auction in the
UK during the first half of
2015, according to figures
published by whisky analyst,
broker and investment
experts Rare Whisky 101.
The first six months of the
year saw 20,638 bottles of
single malt Scotch whisky
sold in the UK on the open
market, an increase of 5,374
bottles – 35 per cent up on
the same period last year.
Compared to the first half
of last year, the value of
collectables sold at auction
grew 33.8 per cent to more
than £4.6m.
WHISKY BEER
n Suffolk brewery, St Peter’s,
has teamed up with the
English Whisky Company
to produce a whisky beer.
The Saints Whisky Beer
is made using the same
peated malt that is used at St
George’s Distillery, Norfolk.
Once fermented, a portion of
Chapter 9 Whisky is added
to the beer, creating a peated
“perfectly balanced” beer
with smoky overtones. The
beer has an ABV of 4.8 per
cent and will initially be sold
in 150 Waitrose stores across
the UK as well as through
Ocado.
GIN
n Newcastle’s first gin
distillery has opened at
Bealim House, formerly
the Fluid sports bar, in the
shadow of the city walls. The
£600,000 venture has been
helped by the well respected
new Durham Distillery. It’s
described as “a London
gin with lots of elderflower
notes”.
WHISKY
n Single malt whisky
distilling is poised to return
to Edinburgh after a 90-year
absence. Former Master
Distiller for The Macallan,
David Robertson, is behind
plans to open the Holyrood
n Lakeland brewer, Tirril, has Park Distillery, a £2 million
created a suite of single malt boutique micro-distillery
spirits by distilling three of its and visitor experience at the
Engine Shed building in the
ales – Red Barn, Academy
and Old Faithful. Each is five heart of the city.
times hand-distilled in small
batch copper stills – which, at
just 200 litres, are believed to
be the smallest commercial
stills in the world.
BEER WHISKY
MICRO DISTILLERIES & BREWERY TAPS
WALKING THE ALE TRAIL…
Victoria Trott tracks down real ale at Mumbles, in Swansea Bay…
About an hour’s drive west of Cardiff, on the
southern edge of the Gower Peninsula, is
the former oyster-fishing village of Mumbles.
Swansea Bay’s most desirable place to live
(property here is the most expensive of any
seaside town in Wales) is usually best known
as the home of Hollywood actress Catherine
Zeta Jones.
But now, instead of celeb-spotters, there’s
a new breed of visitor in town: beer
connoisseurs. For Mumbles is the place to
go in Wales for real ale.
At the west end of the promenade, past
the pastel-coloured houses, B&Bs and
The Pilot interior and exterior and its Wrecker
dark bitter, exclusive to the pub
restaurants, is The Pilot: 2014
Wales CAMRA (Campaign
for Real Ale) Pub of the Year.
Originally opened in 1849 and
named after the type of small
boat that led larger ships into
Swansea docks through the
bay’s hazardous sandbanks,
The Pilot was bought in 2012
by Richard and Jo Bennett
and has fast become one
of the area’s most popular
watering holes.
Says Richard: “We don’t have
a background in running pubs
but Jo, who was a pharmacist,
always wanted to work behind a
bar, so she did one night a week at
The Park Inn, a traditional Mumbles
pub noted for its Real Ale, and loved
it. We decided we wanted to set up a
brewery, so we bought this pub and put
the brewery behind it. I went on a four-day
brewing course at York and we haven’t
looked back.”
Richard brews twice a fortnight and “after
much trial and error” now offers four
ales – Gold (4.4% golden beer “our most
popular offering”), Black Storm (4.5% stout),
Revolver (pale ale, brewed with a different
hop each time) and Wrecker (5% dark bitter)
– which are served only in this pub, along
with a variety of bought-in ciders.
“I think that real ale is becoming increasingly
popular because there is so much variety,”
says Richard. “To be called real ale the beer
has to undergo a secondary fermentation
in a cask but there are only four ingredients
and you can do so much with them. There
are currently around eight breweries in
the Swansea area alone. Also there is
regular innovation and fashions such as
‘craft kegging’, which involves artificially
carbonating the beer.”
Although the pub gets plenty of visitors
from elsewhere, thanks to its appearance
in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide, the frontroom-size bar – whose walls are hung with
paintings by local artists – is filled with
regulars of all ages as well as dog walkers
and a couple of ladies who have dropped in
for a coffee.
So to what does Richard attribute the pub’s
success? He says: “According to one of the
judges talking off the record to a friend of
mine, our secret weapon was Jo – who they
considered to be the ideal barmaid.”
Just off the main road in the village centre
on the ground floor of a Victorian semidetached is Mumbles Ale House, the first
(and currently the only) micropub in Wales.
According to the Micropub Association,
founded in 2012, a micropub is “a small free
house, which listens to its customers, mainly
serves cask ales, promotes conversation,
shuns all forms of electronic entertainment
and dabbles in traditional pub snacks.”
The Ale House, which has room for around
50 people if they spill onto the pavement
terrace, is the passion of Rod Undy and
Karen McGeoch. Over the bar, which
Rod built himself with the help of a local
carpenter, Karen tells me: “Rod used to live
in Gloucestershire, near the first micropub
in the South-West, and he loved the sense
of community and simplicity, which he was
looking to replicate when he moved here.
After converting the premises ourselves
in the space of four weeks, we opened in
August 2014 to coincide with the Swansea
Bay Beer and Cider Festival and have been
overwhelmed by the positive response.
Patrons consider us a ‘hidden treasure’ as
we’re small and off the beaten track.”
Rod, who was an engineer, even designed
a cooling system to ensure that the ale
was served at its traditional temperature
of 12 degrees. Karen, who has done the
Cellarman’s course at the Wye Valley
Brewery, continues: “We serve Real Ale and
ciders, which we source from all over the
UK, thanks to the network of contacts that
Rod has built up. Our patrons can decide
what they want via a typed list, which runs
to several sheets of paper, and which we
update regularly. The only food we sell is
pork scratchings and pork pies.”
As you’d expect in a small community, The
Pilot, The Park Inn and the Ale House all
work together to ensure that they haven’t
got the same ales on tap at the same time.
And you never know, you might find yourself
raising a glass alongside Catherine Zeta
Jones and her husband Michael Douglas.
www.thepilotofmumbles.co.uk
www.mumblesalehouse.co.uk
www.swanseacamra.org.uk
Eastern Airways flies to Cardiff from
Aberdeen and Newcastle
Locals get together at the Ale House (right) with Karen (below)
behind the bar
EXPLORATION EXPRESS
MID WALES
CROSSING BORDERS
Jonathan Jones heads for Wales in search of his roots and discovers the beautiful
landscape around Welshpool in northern Powys…
I’ve always regarded myself as a Scot,
born in Broughty Ferry, in Dundee.
These aren’t perhaps the words you’d
expect to read in the first paragraph
of a story about a man called Jones,
searching for his Welsh roots.
However, although it states on my
passport that the place of my birth is
indeed Broughty Ferry, my ancestry
is undoubtedly Welsh. Consider the
other surnames in my family tree,
where you’ll not only find Jones, but
also Benyon, on my father’s side,
and on my mother’s side, Davies and
Evans.
34
Perhaps more startling is the fact that,
despite these Welsh routes, before
this visit, I’d never actually been to
Wales before.
With this in mind, it’s probably
easier to understand my delight,
when crossing the border into
Wales, accompanied by my wife,
our daughter, and the daughter’s
boyfriend, to discover what a beautiful
part of the world this is.
It might be my imagination, but the
countryside seemed to turn greener,
more undulating, the valleys deeper
and wider, and the roads narrower and
more twisting.
Big towns gave way to smaller villages
and hamlets, which we passed
through with the smiles gradually
widening on our faces. We had, after
all, chosen the location of our holiday
as a good place to relax and unwind.
The signposts were now in both
Welsh and English, which helped to
give the impression that, although we
were still in the UK, we were actually
on a foreign holiday. The undulating
landscape only added to this feeling.
We were booked to stay in a log cabin
at Penllwyn Lodges, three miles from
Montgomery, between Welshpool
and Newtown. We had chosen this
Powis Castle, Welshpool
location because of its proximity to
Berriew, a short and beautiful stroll a
mile along the Montgomery Canal, which
features a range of local wildlife including
swans, ducks, squirrels and water voles.
Berriew was the location of the farm where
my great grandfather grew up, before
he went into service at Powis Castle, in
nearby Welshpool, as a coachman. The
farm was also home to a grandfather
clock that now stands proudly in the
hallway of my home in County Durham,
following long, and expert restoration by a
clockmaker in North Yorkshire.
The cabin itself was homely, with
everything required, plus the addition of
staggering views over valleys and hills in
front of us. Over the next seven days it
became an absolute pleasure to wake in
the morning and eat breakfast, either sat
looking out of the massive window, or on
the balcony, taking the Welsh air.
well as researching my family history, we
were able to plan enjoyable day trips to
medieval Shrewsbury, for the cinema, and
Kidderminster, to meet with members of
my family, when the weather wasn’t in our
favour.
Unfortunately, the weather isn’t always
the best in Wales, something I had been
warned about by a work colleague,
prior to my trip. However, interesting
places to visit, both in Wales, and a short
hop across the border in the English
county of Shropshire, are within easy
driving distance, and are home to indoor
attractions, such as cinemas and theatres,
which provide sheltered entertainment. As
The rugged splendour of the Welsh
mountains, the Dovey Valley and Cardigan
Bay are easily accessible further to the
west, and provided points of interest
on the days when the weather was
favourable.
The Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway
weaves its way through the Banwy Valley
and provides opportunities to see deer
and birds of prey, heron, kingfishers and >>
The Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway, view from Penllwyn Lodges log cabin
otters. It was originally built to transport
sheep, cattle and locally grown timber from
Llanfair to the canal-side in Welshpool town
centre.
Dedicated enthusiasts have reclaimed
the line over the years, and it now boasts
a range of locomotives and carriages,
including historic vehicles from Austria,
Hungary and even Sierra Leone. The
timetable is variable, depending on the time
of year, so it’s best to check first before
making any plans.
Welshpool itself is dominated by the red
sandstone medieval Powis Castle, home to
the Earl of Powis, with a museum dedicated
to Clive of India, including items he brought
back from his travels.
Now owned by the National Trust, the
gardens surrounding the castle are world
famous for their Italianate terraces and
extensive parkland, which feature deer
roaming free. It was while walking up to the
castle, from the High Street in Welshpool,
that I chatted to a lady tending the garden
of her gatekeeper’s cottage. I mentioned to
her that my great grandfather had worked
36
at the castle, and that the census from the
time gave his address as Puzzle Square. I
enquired if this was in the castle itself, but
she pointed me back in the direction of the
town and an alleyway, signposted off the
High Street. She informed me that it was
where the coachmen, groomsmen and other
staff from the castle had their quarters at that
time.
A visit to Puzzle Square led to an alley
of craft shops and cafes, where I had a
feeling of walking in my great grandfather’s
footsteps, as I had earlier in my holiday,
during my first walk along the canal into
Berriew.
Venturing deeper into this part of mid-Wales,
proved a little hair-raising at times, as narrow
roads led up often steep and winding hills,
and across bridges that seemed to cross
chasms. We took one of these routes
in search of King Arthur, or to be more
accurate, a visitor attraction bearing his
name, between Dolgellau and Machynlleth.
King Arthur’s Labyrinth is part of the bigger
Corris visitor centre, which includes not only
the labyrinth, but also nine craft studios,
featuring everything from glass to pottery,
Bridge over Montgomery Canal, houses in Berriew, Canal waymarker
including a maker of remarkable smoking
dragons, Celtic jewellery and hand-printed
T-shirts.
As we we headed home at the end of our
holiday, I wasn’t the only one sad to be
leaving Wales. My wife, daughter, and the
daughter’s boyfriend, all remarked how
wonderful and welcoming Wales had been.
We’ll certainly be returning, as there’s still so
much we haven’t seen.
On returning home, I again checked my
passport. It still states that my birthplace is
Broughty Ferry, in Dundee, yet I definitely
now feel more Welsh than Scottish!
Jonathan and family stayed at Penllwyn
Lodges – penllwynlodges.co.uk
www.wllr.org.uk
www.welshpool.org
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/powis-castle
www.corriscraftcentre.co.uk
www.visitwales.com
Eastern Airways flies from Aberdeen and
Newcastle to Cardiff, and from Newcastle to
Birmingham
WIN a great golfing break with the
Crowne Plaza Aberdeen Airport hotel
Eastern Airways Magazine is pleased to team up with the Crowne Plaza Aberdeen Airport hotel and
our car hire partner, Europcar, along with Murcar golf links, to offer one lucky reader and guest a superb
two-night break including a round of golf for the winner and their partner or companion.
Included in the prize are complimentary
flights from Eastern Airways destinations
and dinner for two on one night with a
complimentary bottle of house wine.
Our winners will also be guests at the par
71 Murcar Links. Just nine miles from
Aberdeen Airport. “It’s as fine a links course
as you could wish to play,” according to
Paul Lawrie, the last Scottish player to win
a Golf Major (The British Open in 1999). TV
commentator Peter Alliss described it as “a
hidden gem”.
Murcar Links is frequently featured in
the Top 100 courses in the UK and the
VisitScotland Top 40 Great Scottish Links
Collection. To enter our competition please answer
the following question and send it to
[email protected],
to arrive no later than November 27.
Please ensure that you write Crowne Plaza
competition in the subject and that you
provide your full name, address, contact
details and the date of your most recent
flight with Eastern Airways. Prizes are not
transferable.
Q: How many rooms are there at the new fourstar Crowne Plaza Aberdeen Airport hotel?
Prize to be taken by March 31, 2016, subject to availability
of accommodation and flights. Public holidays and peak
periods (such as Christmas and New Year) may be excluded.
For full competition rules see www.gravity-consulting.com
For information on Murcar Links or
to book a tee-time call 01224 704354,
email [email protected] or see
www.murcarlinks.com
The four-star Crowne Plaza Aberdeen Airport is
the most prestigious hotel at the city’s airport
– and it’s only 100 metres from the passenger
terminal and a mere five-minute walk away
from direct connections to Eastern Airways
destinations across the UK and Norway.
with its own entrance and ten state-of-the-art
meeting rooms, one with views of the airport’s
runway. Four major business parks are nearby
– ABZ, D2, Aberdeen Gateway and Prime Four.
The hotel can provide transport to and from
these, as well as the nearby heliport.
The hotel has 165 luxury bedrooms and
contemporary and elegant décor. Guests in
the 25 Club Rooms have access to the Club
Lounge, where they can enjoy a continental
breakfast and an evening canapé and drink
reception. Exceptional food and drink are
served from the Offshore Grill restaurant and
two bars.
There’s a gym, complimentary high-speed WiFi,
USB charging points in bedrooms, a Starbucks
cafe, 24-hour room service, and more than 250
car parking spaces.
Business facilities include a conference centre
Particular attention has been paid to ensuring
guests sleep well, with guaranteed wake-up
calls, designated quiet zone floors, beds with
plush duvets and luxurious sheets, and Crowne
Plaza Sleep Advantage kits in each bedroom.
To make a reservation at the Crowne Plaza Aberdeen Airport call 01224-608 350
email [email protected] or see www.cpaberdeen.com
Eastern Airways flies to Aberdeen from 14 UK and Norway destinations
37
BARE ESSENTIALS
WELCOME TO OUR
BARE ESSENTIALS
Information on our routes, fleet, passenger experience and suggestions for what to do when you arrive at your destination.
OUR DESTINATIONS
BERGEN
SCATSTA
SUMBURGH
Scheduled routes
STAVANGER
Charter routes
C
odeshare services
operated by Widerøe
WICK JOHN O’GROATS
STORNOWAY
ABERDEEN
THE FLEET
NEWCASTLE
DURHAM TEES VALLEY
LEEDS BRADFORD
EMBRAER ERJ145
Two aircraft
Seats 50 passengers
Two turbofan engines
Wingspan, 20m (65ft)
Length 30m (98ft)
Typical cruising speed,
450 knots, at 35,000ft
HUMBERSIDE
EAST MIDLANDS
BIRMINGHAM
NORWICH
CARDIFF
FI
SOUTHAMPTON
FRENCH NETWORK
LORIENT
EMBRAER ERJ135
Two aircraft
Seats 37 passengers
Two turbofan engines
Wingspan, 20m (65ft)
Length 26m (86ft)
Typical cruising speed,
450 knots, at 35,000ft
JETSTREAM 41
38
Eighteen aircraft
Seats 29 passengers
Two turboprop engines
Wingspan 19m (60ft)
Besides the airline’s scheduled service
network in the UK and Norway, Eastern
Airways also operates domestic services
within France, from Lorient, in southern
Brittany to France’s second city, Lyon.
SAAB 2000
Length 20m (63ft)
Typical cruising speed,
280 knots, at 20,000ft
Nine aircraft
Seats 50 passengers
Two jetprop engines
Wingspan 24.3m (81ft)
Length 26.7m (89ft)
Typical cruising speed,
370 knots, at 28,000ft
LYON
ESSENTIAL TRAVEL
PASSENGER EXPERIENCE
AIR TRAVEL SHOULD BE MORE OF A PLEASURE AND LESS OF A CHORE
After booking your Eastern Airways
flight via a travel agent, the airline’s
website or in-house reservations call
centre, you will have noticed that
Eastern Airways uses e-tickets. It was in
fact one of the airlines to pioneer
ticketless travel over nine years ago.
Queues at check-in are short and the
process is swift as is the experience
through the security channels. This is
possible thanks to Fast Track, which is
available at Aberdeen, Birmingham,
Cardiff, Leeds Bradford, South­ampton,
East Midlands and Newcastle, and is a
dedicated security channel for Eastern
Airways passengers to use and avoid
busy airport terminal security queues.
With Eastern Airways operating the
largest number of scheduled services
from Aberdeen, a dedicated business
lounge is available for all its customers
flying from the airport and is located next
to its departure gates. Executive lounge
access is also offered at Birmingham,
Cardiff, East Midlands, Leeds Bradford,
Norwich and Southampton for passengers
travelling on fully flexible tickets.
As you board your aircraft you will
notice we have a fleet of liveried valet
baggage carts for you to place larger
items of hand luggage by the aircraft steps.
Your hand luggage will be awaiting you on
the valet baggage cart at your destination
airport.
Once on board, our highly trained cabin
attendants offer a friendly and
personalised in-flight service including
complimentary drinks and branded
snacks. On arrival our aircraft allow for
quick disembarkation, enabling
passengers to make their way swiftly
onwards through the terminals.
OUR AIM IS TO MAKE YOUR
TRAVEL AS PLEASANT AN
EXPERIENCE AS POSSIBLE.
HAVE AN ENJOYABLE TRIP.
We operate a strict no smoking policy on board all of our aircraft and in all of our
lounges. This includes the use of electronic cigarettes or any cigarette substitute
device that emits a vapour or has a power source or produces heat and or a light.
We do not permit electronic cigarettes to be charged within our lounges. Electronic
cigarettes may be carried on board subject to the following conditions:
• Carried on person only
• No refills
• Strictly not permitted for use
STAMPING OUT
DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOUR
While the vast majority of passengers flying
globally behave impeccably, there is a
greater awareness of isolated incidents of
disruptive behaviour, also known as “air
rage”. While this isn’t a major problem for
Eastern Airways, the safety and security of
our pass­engers and crew is our number one
priority.
We don’t want our customers to experience
any behaviour that makes them feel
uncomfortable, or be put in a situation that
compromises safety. Disruptive behaviour
can include smoking, drunkenness, aggress­
ive behaviour or abusive language towards a
customer or a member of crew. Our crews
are fully trained to deal with any incident of
this type.
Disobeying a lawful command given by a
crew member is committing an offence under
the UK Air Navigation Order. Offenders who
persistently misbehave on a flight will be
handed to the appropriate authorities on
arrival and may face arrest and a heavy fine
or up to two years imprisonment. Severe
restrict­ions will also be placed on their future
travel with Eastern Airways.
It must again be stressed that disruptive
behaviour is extremely rare, but we do
take a zero-tolerance stance towards
any behaviour that may endanger our
pass­engers and crew.
BARE ESSENTIALS: WHAT’S GOING ON
ESSENTIAL GOINGS ON…
Andy Warhol’s Pom, 1976. (East Anglia Art Fund; on loan to Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery (Norfolk Museums Service) © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./
Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York and DACS, London.) Right: Cookie jars formerly in the collection of Warhol. (Image courtesy the Movado Group, New Jersey.)
Collectors collect works of art. We all
know that. Less well known are the
collecting habits of some of the artists
themselves.
Now an exhibition at the Sainsbury
Centre for Visual Arts, at the University
of East Anglia, Norwich, aims to open
a window of the world of these artistcollectors.
Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist
as Collector runs till January 24,
2016, featuring the fascinating
personal collections of post-war and
contemporary artists, including Andy
Warhol, Arman, Peter Blake, Edmund de
Waal, Damien Hirst, Howard Hodgkin,
Sol LeWitt, Martin Parr, Hiroshi Sugimoto
and Pae White.
While many of the participating artists
are recognised internationally, their
collections are often less well known.
Previously shown in 2015 at London’s
Barbican, the majority have never been
seen in the region before.
Many of us form collections throughout
our lives and this exhibition sheds light
on the universal compulsion to collect.
Throughout history artists have collected
objects for many reasons – as studio
props, sources of inspiration, references
for their work, personal mementos and
as investment.
Unlike museums, artists do not
always take a scholarly approach to
collecting, nor do they seek to assemble
comprehensive and representative
collections. Reflecting personal interests
and obsessions, their acquisitions are
usually made in tandem with their own
work and often for aesthetic reasons.
Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist
as Collector presents a selection of
objects from the collections of the artists
alongside a key example of their work
to provide insight into their inspirations,
influences, motives and obsessions.
Their collections range from massproduced memorabilia to rare art and
artefacts and from natural history
specimens to curios and objects
reflecting popular culture, and help
reveal the creative processes of some
of the most important artists of the last
50 years.
scva.ac.uk
Germany comes to Birmingham for Christmas
The largest authentic German market
outside Germany and Austria and the
centrepiece of the city’s festive event
calendar returns to Birmingham in
mid-November for five weeks from
November 13-December 22.
Over 180 stalls will be offering gifts,
jewellery, decorations, handmade toys,
German fare, including the ever popular
Glühwein, on Victoria Square, New
Street and Centenary Square.
40
Adjacent to the German Christmas
Market, the Christmas Craft Fair
extends into Chamberlain Square where
Birmingham’s own traders offer their
selection of hand-crafted items, created
by local artisans.
The German market has become a
massive favourite with both residents
and visitors to the city from all over the
UK and Europe – a German travel
website ranking it as number two in
their top ten European Christmas
markets. Many of the stallholders come
from Birmingham’s twin city, Frankfurt.
www.visitbirmingham.com
n This year’s Faclan Hebridiean book
festival, taking place at An Lanntair,
Stornoway, from October 28 to
November 3, is themed around blood.
Authors and books under surveillance
include Malcolm Mackay who was born
and grew up in Stornoway where he
still lives. His much-lauded trilogy of
Glasgow-set novels has positioned him
as the new voice of Tartan Noir.
© The Estate of Jeanloup Sieff
Marina Schiano wearing
short evening dress from
Fall-Winter 1970 collection
For followers of fashion
The Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, County Durham, and the Fondation Pierre BergéYves Saint Laurent are collaborating to create Yves Saint Laurent: Style is Eternal, the first
exhibition in the UK to present a comprehensive display of the French fashion designer’s
work and life.
The YSL show, running until October 24, highlights the defining elements of his vision, and
the significant influence it has had on fashion and the way we understand womenswear.
www.thebowesmuseum.org
n October in Nottingham sees a host of
major festivals taking place across the
city, from 1,000 different beers at the
Robin Hood beer and cider festival, and
the Robin Hood Pageant at Nottingham
Castle, to Goose Fair (the UK’s oldest
travelling fair), GameCity festival and
Hockley Hustle music festival.
n Shetland Noir is the islands’
first crime writing festival, held in
association with Iceland Noir from
November 13-15. The list of wellknown writers features Scandinavian
intrigue from Arne Dahl, Håkan Nesser
and Yrsa Sigurðardóttir. There’s also a
strong Scottish presence from authors
including Stuart Macbride, Denise
Mina, Alex Gray. Ann Cleeves is also
set to make an appearance.
MUSIC AND DANCE CELEBRATED IN ABERDEEN
Wattie Cheung
Red Note Ensemble
n Sound Festival, Scotland’s Festival of
New Music, which runs from October 22 to
November 9, brings together a wide range
of musical styles in a variety of concerts,
workshops, installations and talks across
North East Scotland.
This year’s opening weekend showcases
cross-artform collaborations including new
commissions for new music and dance,
theatre, and visual art. The next weekend
features a conference run in partnership with
the University of Aberdeen, “New music,
Beauty and the Sublime”, with speakers and
musicians from across Europe.
Artists and composers set to feature
at Sound Festival include The Griffyn
Ensemble (Australia), Red Note
Ensemble, Primrose Piano Quartet,
Ensemble Alternance (France),
Leafcutter John, Ian Pace, Ian Wilson
(Ireland), and Brian Irvine.
www.sound-scotland.co.uk
Atomos by Company Wayne McGregor
n DanceLive is the only festival
exclusively showcasing contemporary
dance in the North East of Scotland.
The award-winning annual event
presents a range of work from local
choreographers and dancers as
well as national and international
companies. 2015 marks its 10th
anniversary.
The festival takes place across
Aberdeen from October 9 to 20.
www.dancelivefestival.co.uk
F LY L O C A L LY
T O N O R W AY
Now better connected
to Stavanger and
Bergen via Aberdeen
Flights from Durham Tees Valley,
Cardiff, East Midlands, Humberside,
Leeds Bradford, Newcastle, Norwich,
Southampton, Stornoway and
Wick John O’Groats
easternairways.com why fly any other way?
42
Connecting flights from Aberdeen to Stavanger
and Bergen are operated by Widerøe
ESSENTIAL GOINGS ON
RUGBY WORLD CUP KICKS OFF
Mid-September sees the start of a sixweek festival of Rugby Union, as the
sport’s eighth World Cup kicks off across
11 English towns and cities, plus Cardiff.
The host cities include Rugby, where the
game was born, although the nearest
match venues are at Leicester, Milton
Keynes, and Birmingham’s Villa Park.
It feels as though the game has come a
long way since the first such competition, in New Zealand (the current holders)
and Australia, in 1987. The biggest single
change, of course, was the advent of the
professional game in 1995, opening the
door to growing commercialism – close
to half a million visitors to this Autumn’s
tournament will spend the thick end of a
billion pounds in the visitor economy.
The TV audience for the tournament had
swollen from 200 million people for the
first such event to four billion by 2011
and only the football World Cup, among
single-sport events, attracts more
spectators.
England was chosen to host the
competition in July 2009, after beating
rival bids from Italy, Japan and South
Africa. Of the 20 teams competing at the
2015 World Cup, 12 of them qualified by
finishing in the top three places in their
pools in the 2011 World Cup. The other
eight teams qualified through regional
competition. There is only one change
from the 2011 competition, with Uruguay
replacing Russia. All four of our home
nations qualified automatically but only
England has ever won it.
Three venues are in London – Twickenham, Wembley and the Olympic Stadium. Dedicated Rugby Union venues
include Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium,
and modest-sized venues in Gloucester
and Exeter. Other 50-000-plus capacity
venues are in Newcastle and Manchester (Etihad Stadium), while the football
stadia at Brighton, Leeds, Leicester,
Milton Keynes and Birmingham (Villa
Park) host the remaining matches.
Regular events in the host cities will take
on a Rugby flavour during the tournament, while there will also be special
events, as part of the Rugby World Cup
2015 Festival of Rugby.
These include Newcastle Falcons
Legends against Southern Hemisphere
Legends, at the city’s Kingston Park
Stadium, on October 2. The Conversion
Festival in the city over the following
weekend takes in the EAT! street food
market.
Matches in Leeds will coincide with
British Art Show 8, the Hayward’s
Gallery’s five-yearly major touring
exhibition, which runs at Leeds Art
Gallery to January 10.
Leicester will host a Night of Festivals
event, tailored to the World Cup
hosting and taking place on October
2-4. There will be additional Night of
Festivals activity in the FanZone, in
Victoria Park, and around the King
Power Stadium in the build-up to each
match. Night of Festivals SPECIAL
EDITION will present commissions,
performances and artworks developed
by artists from, or representing, all the
competing countries, including a special
Tongan carnival selection.
Events in Rugby itself include a Festival
of Culture, Rugby Food and Drink
Festival and Enjoy Rugby Festival.
www.rugbyworldcup.com
Eastern Airways serves many of the Rugby World Cup venues, including Cardiff, Newcastle, Leeds, Leicester (East
Midlands Airport), Birmingham, Gloucester and Milton Keynes (Birmingham Airport ) and Brighton (Southampton Airport)
© Andrew Fosker
Matches at Eastern Airways
destinations include:
CARDIFF MILLENNIUM STADIUM
Ireland v Canada, Sep 19
Wales v Uruguay, Sep 20
Australia v Fiji, Sep 23
Wales v Fiji, Oct 1
New Zealand v Georgia, Oct 2
France v Ireland, Oct 11
Quarter finals, Oct 17 and 18
VILLA PARK, BIRMINGHAM
South Africa v Samoa, Sep 26
Australia v Uruguay, Sep 27
ELLAND ROAD, LEEDS
Italy v Canada, Sep 26
Scotland v USA, Sep 27
LEICESTER CITY STADIUM
Argentina v Tonga, Oct 4
Canada v Romania, Oct 6
Argentina v Namibia, Oct 11
ST JAMES’ PARK, NEWCASTLE
South Africa v Scotland, Oct 3
New Zealand v Tonga, Oct 9
Samoa v Scotland, Oct 10
The final is at Twickenham on Oct 31
43
BARE ESSENTIALS: DESTINATIONS
STORNOWAY
WICK JOHN O’GROATS
FACLAN
2015
fuil:
blood
“The purpose of literature is to
turn blood into ink.”
T S Eliot
WHERE
Feis Litreachas Innse Gall
The Hebridean Book Festival
An Dàmhair
To the east of28
the –
town.
October
31 Taxis
and car hire are available at the
airport. No weekend flights.
Carhire Hebrides: 01851 706
500.
th
st
VISIT
Stornoway Fish Smokers, Shell
St; Woodlands Centre, Lews
Castle grounds; An Lanntair
Arts Centre, Kenneth Street,
Stornoway.
Hotel Hebrides, Tarbert; Royal
Hotel, Cromwell St, Stornoway;
Scarista House, west Harris;
Auberge Carnish, Uig.
SHOP AT
Callanish Jewellery, Point St;
This ’n That, Cromwell St;
Borgh Pottery, Borgh (20 miles).
DRINK AT
Chili Chili cocktail and vodka
bar, Era, South Beach; The
Carlton Lounge, Francis St.
(Both in Stornoway)
EAT AT
Digby Chick, Bank St; Golden
Ocean, Cromwell St; Thai,
Church St. (All in Stornoway)
WHAT’S ON
Faclan: Hebridean Book
Festival, An Lanntair, Oct 28-31;
Scottish Opera: Così fan tutte,
An Lanntair, Nov 3.
Aberdeen image: Casson and Friends, DanceLive
Ackergill Tower
DanceLIve
Jesmond Dene House
One mile from the centre of
Wick, half an hour’s drive from
Thurso. Main bus and rail
stations are near to Wick centre
serving most places in
Caithness. Trains to Thurso and
Inverness. Post bus operates
Thurso-Wick-Airport. Car hire:
Dunnets offers airport pick-up
and drop-off, 01955 602103.
Seven miles north-west of the
city centre, off the A96. Regular
buses into the city centre. For
car hire see Europcar info back
page.
Seven miles north-west of the
city centre. Metro rail link every
few minutes to the city,
Gateshead, the coast and
Sunderland. Half-hourly bus
service. Taxi fare to city, approx
£12. For car hire see Europcar
info on back page.
Faclan book festival
STAY AT
44
NEWCASTLE
ABERDEEN
Airport 01851 702256
www.hial.co.uk/stornoway-airport
Eastern Airways flights to
Aberdeen. Onward connections
to Bergen, Cardiff, Durham
Tees Valley, East Midlands,
Humberside, Newcastle, Norwich,
Southampton, Stavanger, Wick
Tourist/Local Info 01851 703088
www.visitouterhebrides.co.uk
WHERE
VISIT
Wick Heritage Museum; St
Fergus Gallery, Sinclair Terr;
Pulteney Distillery, Huddart St.
STAY AT
Ackergill Tower, Wick; Mackays
Hotel, Wick; The Brown Trout
Hotel, Station Rd, Watten, near
Wick.
SHOP AT
John O’Groats (pottery,
knitwear); Rotterdam St, Thurso
(20 miles).
DRINK AT
Cocktail Bar, Mackay’s Hotel,
Wick; the Alexander Bain
Wetherspoons, Wick.
EAT AT
Bord de l’Eau, Market St, Wick;
Le Bistro, Thurso; Captain’s
Galley, Scrabster (22 miles).
WHAT’S ON
WHERE
VISIT
Aberdeen Maritime Museum,
Shiprow; Tolbooth Museum,
Castle St; Rendezvous Gallery,
Forest Ave.
STAY AT
Rox Hotel, Market St; Skene
House Hotel suites, various
locations; Malmaison; Park Inn
by Radisson; Raemoir House
Hotel, Banchory.
SHOP AT
Juniper (gifts, jewellery),
Belmont St; Aberdeen Antique
Centre, South College St.
DRINK AT
The Monkey House, Union
Terr; Pearl Lounge, Dee St;
The Globe, North Silver St; The
Prince of Wales, St Nicholas
Lane.
EAT AT
Prohibition, Langstane Pl; Stage
Door Restaurant, North Silver
St; Cinnamon, Union St; Manzil,
King St; Soul, Union St; The
Tippling House, Belmont St.
WHAT’S ON
WHERE
VISIT
Great North Museum, Centre for
Life, Newcastle; Gateshead
Quays for the Baltic and Sage
Gateshead.
STAY AT
Sandman Signature, Hotel
Indigo, Jesmond Dene House,
all Newcastle; Hilton, Gateshead.
SHOP AT
Jules B, Jesmond; Cruise,
Princess Square, Newcastle;
Van Mildert, MetroCentre and
Durham.
DRINK AT
Crown Posada, Side; The Forth,
Pink Lane; Bridge Hotel, Castle
Garth – all Newcastle.
EAT AT
House of Tides, Quayside;
Blackfriars; Caffè Vivo (Live
Theatre); Red Mezze, Leazes
Park Rd; Peace and Loaf,
Jesmond – all Newcastle.
WHAT’S ON
Knights Of The North Highland
Way Challenge Event, Thurso,
until Sep 30; Ca Norrie MacIver
(lead singer of Manran) in
concert, Mackay’s Hotel, Wick,
Nov 5.
A Deeside Food & Fiddle
Fortnight, Oct 3-19; DanceLive,
festival of contemporary dance,
Oct 9-20; Sound festival of new
music, Oct 22-Nov 9.
Rugby World Cup: see page 43;
Spineless, invertebrates
exhibition, Great North Museum:
Hancock, until Nov 1; Lumière
Durham 2015, the UK’s largest
light festival, Nov 12-15.
Airport 01955 602215
www.hial.co.uk/wick-airport.html
Eastern Airways flights to Aberdeen.
Onward connections to Bergen,
Durham Tees Valley, East Midlands,
Humberside, Leeds Bradford,
Newcastle, Norwich, Southampton,
Stavanger, Stornoway
Tourist/Local Info 0845 22 55 121
www.wicktown.co.uk
Airport 0844 481 6666
www.aberdeenairport.com
Eastern Airways flights to Bergen,
Cardiff, Durham Tees Valley,
East Midlands, Humberside,
Leeds Bradford, Newcastle,
Norwich, Southampton,
Stavanger, Stornoway, Wick
Tourist/Local Info 01224 900490
www.visitaberdeen.com
Airport 0871 882 1121
www.newcastleinternational.co.uk
Eastern Airways flights to
Aberdeen, Birmingham, Cardiff,
Stavanger. Onward connections to
Bergen, Stornoway, Wick
Tourist/Local Info
0191 277 8000 / 0191 478 4222
www.visitnewcastlegateshead.com
BARE ESSENTIALS: DESTINATIONS
DURHAM TEES VALLEY HUMBERSIDE
Hull Fair
DoubleTree by Hilton
Fifteen miles east of Scun­
thorpe, 20 miles south of Hull,
16 miles west of Grimsby, 30
miles north of Lincoln. Regular
bus services to major towns.
Barnetby Station three miles
from airport with Intercity connections via Don­caster. Approx
taxi fare to Hull £26. For car hire
see Europcar info, back page.
Nine miles north-west of Leeds
centre, seven miles from
Bradford. Regular Airlink 757
bus from bus and rail stations
to terminal. Taxi time 25 mins.
For car hire see Europcar info on
back page.
Hartlepool’s Maritime Experience
WHERE
Five miles east of Darlington
and ten miles west of
Middlesbrough. Taxi fare to
Darlington approx £8. For car
hire see Europcar info back
page.
VISIT
mima (Middlesbrough Institute
of Modern Art) Centre Square;
Locomotion, the National
Railway Museum at Shildon;
Hartlepool’s Maritime
Experience, Historic Quay.
STAY AT
LEEDS BRADFORD EAST MIDLANDS
WHERE
VISIT
Museums Quarter, Hull; The
Deep, Hull; Lincoln Castle and
Cathedral; Ferens Art Gallery, Hull.
STAY AT
Rockliffe Hall, Hurworth on
Tees; Holiday Inn, Scotch
Corner; Headlam Hall, near
Darlington; Crathorne Hall
Hotel, Yarm; Wynyard Hall.
Forest Pines Hotel, Broughton;
Cave Castle Hotel, Brough;
Willerby Manor, Willerby; The
White Hart, Lincoln.
SHOP AT
SHOP AT
WHERE
VISIT
Royal Armouries, Leeds; Leeds
City Museum, Millennium
Square; National Media Museum,
Bradford; Salts Mill, Saltaire.
STAY AT
DoubleTree by Hilton, Leeds;
Radisson Blu, The Headrow,
Leeds; the New Ellington,
Leeds; Dubrovnik boutique
hotel, Oak Avenue, Bradford.
SHOP AT
Psyche, Linthorpe Rd,
Middles­brough; The House,
Yarm High Street; Leggs,
Skinnergate, Darlington.
Bailgate and Steep Hill area,
Lincoln; Henri Beene,
Abbeygate, Grimsby.
Retro Boutique, Headingley
Lane, Leeds; Harvey Nichols,
Briggate, Leeds; Victoria
Quarter, Leeds.
DRINK AT
DRINK AT
DRINK AT
The Wig & Mitre, Steep Hill,
Lincoln; Ye Olde Black Boy,
High St, Hull.
Baby Jupiter, York Place, Leeds;
Haigys, Lumb Lane, Bradford.
EAT AT
Mumtaz, Clarence Dock, Leeds;
Brasserie Blanc, Sovereign St,
Leeds.
George and Dragon, Yarm;
Black Bull, Frosterley.
EAT AT
Raby Hunt, Summerhouse;
Sardis, Northgate, Darlington;
Dun Cow Inn, Sedgefield; The
Orangery, Rockliffe Hall.
WHAT’S ON
Pacific Predators exhibition,
Captain Cook Birthplace
Museum, until Nov 1.
Airport 01325 332811
www.durhamteesvalleyairport.com
Eastern Airways flights to Aberdeen.
Onward connections to Bergen,
Stavanger, Stornoway, Wick
Tourist/Local Info
01642 729700 / 264957
www.visitmiddlesbrough.com
Figs Restaurant, Cleethorpes;
Brackenborough Hotel &
Restaurant, Louth; Winteringham Field, Winteringham; Pipe
and Glass, South Dalton.
WHAT’S ON
Beverley Food Festival, town
centre, Oct 4; Hull Fair, Walton
Street, Oct 9-17; Lincolnshire
Sausage Festival, Lincoln
Castle, Oct 24.
Airport 0844 887 7747
www.humbersideairport.com
Eastern Airways flights to
Aberdeen. Onward connections
to Bergen, Stavanger, Stornoway,
Wick
Tourist/Local Info 01482 486600
www.visithullandeastyorkshire.com
www.visitlincolnshire.com
www.yorkshire.com
EAT AT
WHAT’S ON
Rugby World Cup: see page 43;
A Gift from the Whole Nation,
Harewood House, until Nov
1; British Art Show, Leeds Art
Gallery, Oct 9-Jan 10; Thought
Bubble ComicCon, Nov 9-15.
Airport 0113 250 9696
www.leedsbradfordairport.co.uk
Eastern Airways flights to Aberdeen
and Southampton. Onward
connections to Bergen, Stavanger,
Wick
Tourist/Local Info 0113 242 5242
www.visitleeds.co.uk
www.yorkshire.com
King Richard III Visitor Centre
WHERE
Twelve miles from both Derby
and Nottingham, just off the M1
junction 24. Rail stations
Lough­borough, Long Eaton,
Not­tingham and Derby are a
short bus/taxi ride from EMA.
For car hire see Europcar info on
back page.
VISIT
King Richard III Visitor Centre,
Leicester; Nottingham
Contemporary, Weekday Cross;
Creswell Crags, Worksop;
QUAD, Cathedral Quarter, Derby.
STAY AT
Radisson Blu at airport;
Cathedral Quarter Hotel, St
Mary’s Gate, Derby.
SHOP AT
Paul Smith, Low Pavement,
Nottingham; The Artisan’s
Studio, Arnold, Nottingham.
DRINK AT
Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, below
Nottingham Castle; The Waterfront, Canal St, Nottingham.
EAT AT
Loch Fyne, King St, Nottingham;
Red Hot World buffet and bar,
Corner House, Nottingham; Chef
and Spice, Andrewes St, Leicester.
WHAT’S ON
Rugby World Cup: see page 43
Goose Fair, Forest Recreation
Ground, Nottingham, Sep
30-Oct 4; Derby Folk Festival,
Oct 2-4; Diwali Festival of Light,
Leicester, Nov 1-15; Nottingham
Comedy Festival, Nov 6-14.
Airport 0871 919 9000
www.eastmidlandsairport.com
Eastern Airways flights to
Aberdeen. Onward connections
to Bergen, Stavanger, Stornoway,
Wick
Tourist/Local Info
08444 775678
www.visitderby.co.uk
www.experiencenottinghamshire.com
www.visitleicester.info
BARE ESSENTIALS: DESTINATIONS
BIRMINGHAM
Selfridges
Dr Who Experience
Six miles east of the city, off
Junction 6 of the M42.
Connected by free Air-Rail Link
monorail system to Birmingham
International Station for trains to
Birmingham and Coventry. For
car hire see Europcar info on
back page.
Twelve miles west of Cardiff,
ten miles from Junction 33 on
M4. Rail link, every hour,
connects airport to Cardiff
Central and Bridg­end. For car
hire see Europcar info on back
page.
VISIT
Cardiff Castle; Cardiff
Bay Visitor Centre, Wales
Millennium Centre, Cardiff
Bay; Norwegian Church Arts
Centre, Cardiff Bay; Dr Who
Experience, Cardiff Bay.
WHERE
Birmingham Museum and Art
Gallery, (BMAG), Chamberlain
Sq; Museum of the Jewellery
Quarter, Vyse St, Hockley;
Thinktank Birmingham Science
Museum, Millennium Point.
STAY AT
Hotel Indigo, The Cube;
Radisson Blu, Holloway Circus,
Queensway; Marriott, Hagley
Rd; Staying Cool, Rotunda.
SHOP AT
Selfridges (Bullring); Harvey
Nichols (Mailbox).
VISIT
STAY AT
Peterstone Court, in the Usk
Valley; St David’s Hotel & Spa,
Havannah St, Cardiff Bay.
SHOP AT
St Mary Street for specialist
shops; Splott Market
(weekends), SE of city centre.
DRINK AT
Pen and Wig, Park Grove; Park
Vaults, Park Place.
EAT AT
The Potted Pig, High St; ffresh,
Wales Millennium Centre;
Purple Poppadom, Cowbridge
Rd East.
San Carlo, Temple St; Opus,
Cornwall St.
WHAT’S ON
Rugby World Cup: see page 43;
Birmingham Comedy Festival,
Oct 2-11; Fierce Festival - live
art, performance and projects,
Oct 7-11; Birmingham
Literature Festival, Oct 8-17;
Birmingham’s Frankfurt
Christmas Market & Craft Fair,
city centre, Nov 12-Dec 22.
Airport 0871 282 7117
www.bhx.co.uk
Eastern Airways flights to
Newcastle
Tourist/Local Info 0844 888 3883
www.visitbirmingham.com
WHERE
DRINK AT
Bank, Brindley Pl; The Tap and
Spile, Gas St.
46
CARDIFF
EAT AT
WHAT’S ON
Rugby World Cup: see page 43;
Cardiff Half Marathon, Mermaid
Quay, Oct 4; Cardiff Film &
Comic Con, Motorpoint Arena,
Oct 24-25.
Airport 01446 711111
www.cardiff-airport.com
Eastern Airways flights to
Aberdeen, Newcastle. Onward
connections to Bergen, Stavanger,
Stornoway, Wick
Tourist/Local Info 02920 873573
www.visitcardiff.com
www.southernwales.com
NORWICH
SOUTHAMPTON
Tudor House
Norwich Cathedral
WHERE
Three miles north of the city.
Hourly bus service into the city
centre. Approx taxi fare to
Norwich £7. For car hire see
Europcar info on back page.
VISIT
Norwich Cathedral, The Close;
Norwich Castle, Elm Hill;
Sandringham Estate, Norfolk;
Norwich Puppet Theatre,
Whitefriars, Norwich.
STAY AT
The Maids Head Hotel,
Tombland; De Vere Dunston Hall
Hotel & Golf Club, Ipswich Rd;
Marriott Sprowston Manor Hotel
& Country Club; Barnham Broom
Hotel & Spa, Honingham Rd;
Norfolk Mead Hotel, Coltishall.
SHOP AT
Jarrold’s, London St; Ginger
Ladies Wear, Timberhill.
DRINK AT
WHERE
Five miles north of city. Parkway
Station beside terminal, three
trains hourly to Southam­pton
and London Waterloo. Buses
hourly to the city. For car hire
see Europcar info on back page.
VISIT
SeaCity Museum, Havelock Rd;
Tudor House & Garden, Bugle
St; Solent Sky, Hall of Aviation,
Gilbert Rd South.
STAY AT
The White Star Tavern and
Dining Rooms, Oxford St; Grand
Harbour Hotel, West Quay Rd;
Best Western Chilworth Manor.
SHOP AT
WestQuay Shopping Centre,
city centre; Antiques Quarter,
Old Northam Rd; The Marlands
Shopping Centre, Civic
Centre Rd.
DRINK AT
The Fat Cat, West End St; The
Adam & Eve, Bishopgate; The
Wine Press, Woburn Court,
Guildhall Hill; The Last Wine
Bar, St Georges St.
The Cellar, West Marland Rd;
The Duke of Wellington, Bugle
St; The Pig in the Wall, Western
Esplanade.
EAT AT
Olive Tree, Oxford St; SeaCity
Museum café, Havelock Road;
Coriander Lounge, Below Bar.
Tatlers, Tombland; Mambo
Jambo, Lower Goat Lane;
Umberto’s Trattoria
Italia, St Benedicts St.
WHAT’S ON
Glyndebourne, Norwich
Theatre Royal, Nov 17-21;
Giant Norwich Record Fair, St
Andrew’s Hall, Sep 28 & Nov
28.
Airport 01603 411923
www.norwichairport.co.uk
Eastern Airways flights to
Aberdeen. Onward connections
to Bergen, Stavanger, Stornoway,
Wick
Tourist/Local Info 01603 213999
www.visitnorwich.co.uk EAT AT
WHAT’S ON
East Street Arts Festival, Sep
26; Music in the City, Guildhall
Square, Oct 3-4; SO: To Speak,
Southampton’s Festival of
Words, various venues, Oct
23-Nov 1.
Airport 0870 040 0009
www.southamptonairport.com
Eastern Airways flights to Aberdeen
and Leeds Bradford. Onward
connections to Bergen, Stavanger,
Stornoway, Wick
Tourist/Local Info 023 8083 3333
www.discoversouthampton.co.uk
BARE ESSENTIALS: DESTINATIONS
EXPLORATION EXPRESS
SHETLAND
LORIENT
WHERE
VISIT
Mareel, Lerwick; Muckle Flugga,
Unst, the northernmost tip of
Britain; Shetland Museum,
Lerwick; Jarlshof, Grutness
(both Mainland).
STAY AT
Busta House Hotel, Brae; Saxa
Vord Resort, Unst; Scalloway
Hotel, Central mainland.
SHOP AT
Shetland Fudge, Lerwick; Jamieson
& Son Knitwear, Lerwick; Valhalla
Brewery, Saxa Vord.
DRINK AT
Mid Brae Inn, Brae; The Lounge
Bar, Lerwick; Kiln Bar, Scalloway.
EAT AT
Busta House Hotel, Brae; Saxa
Vord Resort, Unst.
La Croix Rousse
About three miles north-west or
15 minutes from the city centre.
Approx taxi to centre, €20-25.
Lyon’s St Exupéry airport is 15
miles east of the city, which is
30 minutes away by express
tram (€15.70). Plus bus, taxi
and hire cars. TGV station
gives access the national highspeed rail network.
WHERE
VISIT
Gulf of Morbihan; La petite mer
de Gâvres lagoon; Belle-Ile; Île
de Groix; Carnac; Quiberon; the
Blayet and Scorff valleys.
STAY AT
Hôtel Mercure, Lorient centre ;
Brit Hotel, Le Kerotel, northwest of the cty; Hôtel Léopol,
by the port.
SHOP AT
Rue du Port and rue de Liège;
quai des Indes and quai de
Rohan; FNAC, place Aristide
Briand.
VISIT
Notre-Dame de Fourvière
basilica; old Lyon; the
Croix-Rousse quarter.
STAY AT
Grand Hôtel de la Paix, 2 place
Francisque Regaud; Hôtel le
Boulevardier, 5 rue de la
Fromagerie; Chambre d’Hôtes
Les Soyeuses, 49 rue des
Tables Claudiennes.
SHOP AT
Rue du Boeuf in the Old Town;
Les Puces du Canal flea
market, Villeurbanne.
EAT AT
La Grange au Bouc, 9 quai
Romand Rolland, Lyon 5
district; Le Boston Cafe, 8 place
des Terreaux and Georgia, 18
rue Longue, Lyon 1 district.
L’Amphitryon,127 rue du
Colonel Muller; Le Jardin
Gourmand, 46 rue Jules Simon.
Le Moulin Vert, port de Lomene,
Ploemeur; Tavarn Ar Roue
Morvan, 1 place Pollig
Monjarret, Lorient.
WHAT’S ON
Habiter le Temps exhibition,
Ecomusée des Forges, until
Oct 30.
WHAT’S ON
WHERE
DRINK AT
Shetland Wool Week, Sep
26-Oct 4; Accordion & Fiddle
Festival, Oct 8-12; Shetland
Food Fair, Oct 30-Nov 1;
Shetland Craft Fair, Nov 13-15.
Sumburgh Airport 01950 460 905
www.hial.co.uk/sumburgh-airport/
Frequent daily charter services to
Aberdeen, operated by Eastern
Airways for the oil industry.
Tourist/Local Info 01595 693434
visit.shetland.org
NORWAY
Lorient pleasure port
Shetland Wool Week
Eastern Airways operates under
contract for the oil industry to both
Scatsta and Sumburgh Airports.
Scatsta is 24 miles north-west
of Lerwick, a few miles from the
Sullom Voe oil terminal. Sumburgh
is the islands’ commercial airport,
located at the southern tip of
Mainland, and also 24 miles from
Lerwick. For hire car visit www.
boltscarhire.co.uk or call 01595
693 636 (note that there are no
on-airport facilities at Scatsta).
LYON
DRINK AT
EAT AT
Bouchon Les Fines Gueules,
16 rue Lainerie, Lyon 5 district;
Le Saint Cochon, 11 rue
Laurencin, Lyon 2 district; La
Rémanence, rue du Bât
d’Argent, Lyon 1 district.
WHAT’S ON
The Lumière Festival, around
80 films shown in 30 venues,
Oct 12-18.
Airport + 33 (0) 2 97 87 21 50
www.lorient.aeroport.fr
Eastern Airways flights to Lyon
Tourist/Local Info + 33 (0) 2 847 800
www.lorient-tourisme.fr
Airport ++33 (0) 4 72 77 69 69
www.lyonaeroports.com
Eastern Airways flights to Lorient
Tourist/Local Info
+33 (0) 826 80 08 26
www.lyon-france.com
What’s Brewing
STAVANGER
Norway’s fourth largest city lies
on the country’s south-west
coast. The airport is just nine
miles out of town.
VISIT
Pulpit Rock – a natural rock
formation that overlooks the
Lysefjord.
STAY AT
The Clarion, Myrhegaarden,
Skagen Brygge, all in the city
centre; Sola Strand Hotel, on
the beach, near the airport.
WHAT’S ON
Whats Brewing Beer Festival,
Oct 23-24.
BERGEN
Bergen airport Flesland is
approximately 12 miles southwest of the centre of Bergen.
VISIT
Troldhaugen, the home of
composer Edvard Grieg.
Norway in a Nutshell – a short
tour (ideally three days) of some
the dramatic scenery nearby,
including the Breathtaking Flam
Railway.
STAY AT
Radisson Blu Royal or the
mid-market Thon Bergen
Brygge, both on the old
quayside.
WHAT’S ON
Meteor 2015 – Performing
Arts Festival, Oct 15-24.
Stavanger Airport + 47 67 03 10 00
www.avinor.no/en/airport/stavanger
Bergen Airport + 47 67 03 15 55
www.avinor.no/en/airport/bergen
Eastern Airways flights to Aberdeen,
Newcastle. Onward connections
to Cardiff, Durham Tees Valley,
East Midlands, Humberside, Leeds
Bradford, Norwich, Southampton,
Stornoway, Wick
47
ESSENTIAL GUIDE
RECORD SHOPS
ESSENTIAL GUIDE
Our columnist, Harry Pearson, has many strings to his intellectual bow, of which a
knowledge and love of vinyl records is merely the latest to emerge. He shares both
in his essential guide to vinyl around Eastern Airways destinations…
Scotland
48
Alfred Wimmer
Earlier this year a friend of mine
was sitting outside a café in west
London watching workmen doing
up the storefront across the road.
“What’s it going to be?” he asked
the waitress. “‘A record shop,”
she said. “Blimey,” my friend
said, “what is this, 1979?”
In truth it is my friend who is
out of touch. A decade ago the
picture for the indie vinyl store
was indeed gloomy. Battered by
the rise of megastores and the
appearance of online retailing
behemoth Amazon, independent
record shops looked to be on the
verge of extinction, the woolly
mammoths of retail. In 2010 it
was estimated that in Britain
a record store closed roughly
every three days. Places that
had once been a Mecca for
music fans, such as Selectadisc
in Nottingham, One Up in
Aberdeen, Ray’s Jazz Shop,
in London, Clive’s Records,
on Shetland, and Red Rhino,
in York, took down their dusty
posters, folded up their slogan
T-shirts and closed their doors
for good, taking with them a host
of memories and living on in only
the little paper price stickers that
came attached to the sleeves of
the LPs and singles they’d sold.
In the past year, however, things
have changed. Twenty new
independent record shops have
opened in the UK in the past 12
months, bringing numbers back
to a level not seen for nearly a
decade. The trend has been
bolstered by a huge surge of
interest in vinyl, which – despite
all predictions that CDs and
downloads would send it the
way of the wax cylinder – has
undergone a spectacular revival.
In 2014 sales of what we used to
call “records” hit 1.29 million in
the UK, the highest since 1996.
This year has seen another hike,
so far by an estimated 60 per
cent. The vinyl LP and singles
chart has been brought back
and the annual Record Store Day
sees vinyl junkies literally sleeping
out on the street in the hope of
securing special limited edition
issues. The independent record
stores offer more than just retail,
though. They are a place for fans
to congregate, for people to hear
new music and meet kindred
spirits. As Brian Mutton, of The
Music Exchange, in Nottingham,
once summarised: “It’s a proper
social service.” It may not quite
be 1979, but it’s a lot better than
2010.
CAVERN RECORDS, ABERDEEN
When the famous One Up record shop – which
had started as a market stall back in the days of
the Sex Pistols – closed its doors at the start of
2013 there were widespread fears that Cavern
Records would soon follow, leaving Aberdeen
bereft. Thankfully the gloomy predictions proved
unfounded and the crammed and deliciously dusty
shop in the trendy Belmont Street area continues
to delight local and visiting record collectors alike,
with its eclectic selection of second hand vinyl –
everything from 70s German synth to Grime via
Goth and Jazz-funk. The stock on display in the
racks is merely the tip of the vinyl iceberg; Cavern
has lots more stuff tucked away in storage, so if
you’re after something specific, it’s wise to ask.
Nearest Eastern Airways airport – Aberdeen
North of England
RPM, NEWCASTLE
Tyne and Wear is a bit of a haven for the record
addict, with at least half-a-dozen independent
stores in the metropolitan area (though sadly Pop
Rec in Sunderland, which was run by Frankie
and the Heartstrings, has had to close owing to
leasehold issues). RPM is arguably the best of an
excellent bunch. Tucked away off High Bridge, in
Newcastle, the compact shop first opened in 1998,
specialises in indie, classic rock and hip-hop and
also hosts music events by locals, such as Paul
Smith from Maximo Park. Alongside the vinyl, RPM
also has a selection of fabulous vintage stereo
equipment, including a 1960s Dynatron that looks
like something James Bond might have spun his
platters on.
Nearest Eastern Airways airport – Newcastle
and several relocations since those days and
the label is no more, but their shop continues
to attract big name music fans, including the
likes of the late John Peel and members of
Primal Scream. Swordfish is the place to go
for special edition vinyl – including a £750
boxed set of Led Zeppelin’s entire catalogue
– and pre-owned rarities by the Beatles,
Stones and Jimi Hendrix.
SOUND IT OUT, STOCKTONON-TEES
Located in the back streets of Stockton,
Sound It Out leapt to national prominence
in 2011 when it was the subject of a warm,
funny and ultimately uplifting documentary
by local filmmaker Jeanie Findlay, which
earned widespread acclaim. Owner Tom
Butchart is a man with wide-ranging musical
tastes who’s never happier than when
advising a customer on the best way to
get into 1960s psychedelic biker rock. The
shop is a trove of vinyl treasures and often
hosts music events by bands such as The
Futureheads. Butchart and his staff are
marvellous. As the man himself says: “We’re
passionate, we’re into music and we know
how to talk to people.”
Nearest Eastern Airways airport – Durham Tees
Valley
SPIN IT, HULL
A vinyl-only store that boasts the biggest
selection of LPs and singles in the whole of
Yorkshire and the North East, Spin It was
opened 24 years ago by Steve Mathie.
Located in Trinity Market, in central Hull, the
stock is unashamedly “oldie”-orientated
with everything from Billy Fury singles, Big
Bill Broonzy EPs to original albums by the
Rolling Stones and The Animals. With over
22,000 chunks of vinyl to pick through
you’ll likely not have time to check out the
selection on rock and pop memorabilia,
which would be a pity as you might miss out
on some 1980s Michael Jackson waterslide
transfers.
Nearest Eastern Airways airport – Humberside.
THE INKWELL, YORK
The kind of hipster hang-out you might
expect to find in Shoreditch, this small
shop is devoted to old and new vinyl, pop
culture books and magazines (including
1970s issues of Mad). It also serves good
coffee. The tables are 1950s school desks,
the record racks are old baker’s trays and
there are Bob Dylan lyrics painted on the
wall (the shop name is from Subterranean
Homesick Blues). The owner is amazingly
friendly and massively knowledgeable of a
whole range of musical topics from jazz to
hip-hop. Secondhand and rare vinyl is all
carefully chosen and there are regular days
when local musicians pop in to play personal
selections over the sound system.
Nearest Eastern Airways airport – Leeds Bradford
Nearest Eastern Airways airport – Birmingham
South of England
PIE AND VINYL, SOUTHSEA
Midlands & East Anglia
MUSIC EXCHANGE,
NOTTINGHAM
This is not just a record store but also a
community project that works with a local
homeless charity, offering valuable work
experience to vulnerable adults. Music
Exchange opened in 2009 and was such a
hit it quickly moved to much larger premises
in the hip Hockley area of Nottingham.
Manager Brian Mutton – who formerly
worked at legendary Nottingham record
shop Selectadisc – is the only full-time
member of staff. Music Exchange is stuffed
with vinyl goodies, posters and cards
designed by local artists and all profits
go to charity. East Midlands fashion guru
Paul Smith is reportedly a big fan, and who
wouldn’t be?
Nearest Eastern Airways airport – East Midlands
SOUNDCLASH, NORWICH
One of the last surviving independent
record shops in East Anglia, Soundclash
was opened by owner Paul Mills in 1991.
Located in the upmarket Norwich Lanes
area right in the centre of the city, the shop
specialises in underground and indie on new
vinyl, and also has a wide ranging secondhand stock and sells tickets for local gigs
and festivals. Friendly staff are the antithesis
of the sneering music nerd so memorably
portrayed by Jack Black in the movie
High Fidelity, and have the sort of in-depth
knowledge that allows them to pinpoint an
album from even the vaguest description of
its sleeve.
Nearest Eastern Airways airport – Norwich
SWORDFISH, BIRMINGHAM
The Inkwell
Owners Gareth and Mike opened their first
record shop, Rockers, back in 1979, selling
punk, post-punk and later New Romantic
vinyl. They launched their own record label
from the shop too, which featured luminaries
such as former Duran Duran member and
future Robbie Williams co-writer, Stephen
Duffy. They’ve undergone a name change
A record shop that also serves pie and
mash? Why not? Pie and vinyl is the
brainchild of Rob Litchfield and Steve
Courtnell, who summarise the thought
behind the concept with the words: “We
both like music and we both like pies.” Half
a mile from the beach, in Southsea, near
Portsmouth, the shop-café opened in 2012.
Fitted out with hipster “granny’ furnishings –
fringed lampshades, bent wood chairs – with
vinyl LPs displayed in steamer trunks and
suitcases, it proved an instant hit. Surely the
only place on the planet where you can tuck
into a Pieminster steak-and-onion pie while
contemplating a Can five-LP boxed set.
Nearest Eastern Airways airport – Southampton
Wales
SPILLERS, CARDIFF
The World’s oldest surviving record store,
Spillers began selling wax cylinders when
Queen Victoria was still on the throne and
has been going ever since, despite being
forced to move several times. Over the
years this cramped little shop has been a
haven and a hangout for the likes of Cerys
Matthews and the Super Furry Animals and
has become such an institution that when
property speculators seemed likely to close it
down in 2006 2,000 local people – including
MPs and members of the Manic Street
Preachers – signed a petition to save it.
Luckily it worked. As the Manics themselves
commented: “Spillers was a lifeline – it gave
us our musical education.”
Nearest Eastern Airways airport - Cardiff
Norway
VINYLPALASS, STAVANGER
Opened back in 2011 by a couple of local
DJs, Fredrerick Larvik and Paul Wolde, who
had cottoned on to the upswing in interest in
vinyl earlier than most, Vinylpalass is located
in the centre of Stavanger. Run by volunteers
as a kind of community enterprise, the shop
not only sells but also buys vinyl. Sadly it’s
only open for a few hours on Saturdays,
but the commitment and enthusiasm of
owners and staff will help you pack a lot in.
Specialises in soul, funk and hip-hop.
Nearest Eastern Airways airport – Stavanger
THE LAST WORD with Harry Pearson
FERRETING OUT THE TRUTH…
Yorkshire club’s legendary number six.
Bites Yer Legs was enraged by many
things. In fact, it is hard to think of
anything that didn’t test his patience
to breaking point. Even a glimpse of
Una Stubbs on Give Us A Clue was
likely to end with him sinking his fangs
into the nearest achilles tendon. What
really got Norman’s goat, though, was
flapping material. During the mid70s it seemed the ferret was the only
creature on earth that was actively
campaigning for the return of straightleg jeans.
Ferrets were first brought into the
home by the ancient Egyptians as a
means of rodent control, their status
as a household pet predating that
of the cat. In Renaissance Europe
the sharp-toothed little animal was
regarded as something of a fashion
accessory.
Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da vinci, Czartoryski Museum, Krakow
Leonardo Da Vinci painted Cecilia
Gallerani fondling a white ferret, while
a similar, if smaller, specimen is seen
crawling up Elizabeth I’s dress in the
famous Ermine Portrait, which hangs
in the Courtauld.
50
Later the ferret started to keep
company that was rather more
suited to its Latin name, “the little
fur thief”, turning up among the Wild
Wooders in The Wind In The Willows,
as companion to the archetypal
“smelly Herbert” Compo in Last of
the Summer Wine, and dangling
by its incisors from the fingers of
Richard Whiteley on a local TV news
programme.
The only ferret I have ever known
belonged firmly in this less reputable
category. He was an albino male or
hob (female ferrets are jills; the young,
kits) owned by a school friend of
mine and known as Bites Yer Legs
Norman. Bites Yer Legs was named
in honour of Leeds United’s robustly
uncompromising defender, Norman
Hunter, but in terms of pure psychotic
violence far surpassed even the
And then there was the smell. Ferrets
secrete a pungent odour from their
anal glands when they are frightened
or aggressive. Since Norman spent
nearly all his waking hours in a state
of extreme belligerence, this meant
he lived most of his life enveloped
in a poisonous mist. In an enclosed
space the stink was so palpable you
instinctively swatted at it as at a cloud
of midgies.
It is said that Britain and the US are
countries separated by a common language. It might also be said that the
two nations are divided by a common
animal, the ferret, or at least by their
attitudes to the only domesticated
member of the weasel family.
It is hard to imagine anybody in Britain
looking upon a member of the same
species as Bites Yer Legs Norman
as cute or adorable, or feeling the
overwhelming urge to pamper it with
presents. But such is the case in the
US, where ferrets are regarded as just
the sweetest little things.
Shops such as The Ferret Store offer
the transatlantic ferret-owner the
opportunity to purchase all kinds of
gifts, from a plush hammock known as
The Marshall Designer Fleece Leisure
Lounge, to an extensive range of
deodorant sprays. There even exists
a range of ferret-size hats, including a
little straw stetson.
There is a darker side to the US
ferret scene. Sadly, while their fellow
American ferrets cavort around in a
Sheppard & Greene Ferret Freeway
(“Can this be the ferret toy of the
century?”), others live as fugitives
from justice. It is entirely illegal to own
a ferret in the state of California. An
organisation called Californians For
Ferret Legalization (CFL) has been
campaigning vigorously to have the
ban lifted. According to CFL, there
could be as many as 500,000 ferrets
living underground, as it were, in the
Sunshine State.
Some readers may find it ironic that,
in a country where you can walk into
a shop and buy a Smith & Wesson
magnum, it is against the law to own
a polecat. But then you never knew
Bites Yer Legs Norman.
“IT IS HARD TO IMAGINE ANYBODY
IN BRITAIN LOOKING UPON A MEMBER
OF THE SAME SPECIES AS BITES YER LEGS
NORMAN AS CUTE OR ADORABLE”
E A S T E R N A I R W AY S
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ENERGY EXTRA
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS AND FUTURE PROSPECTS IN THE ENERGY WORLD • AUTUMN 2015
FRESH FIELDS
–new development in North Sea
–cutting the impact of oil price slump
Fly easternairways.com
i
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Nortech has ten key differentiators which set us apart from our competition.
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Airways on behalf of the oil industry. Our partnership
with Emirates also offers fast connections to Dubai and
other Middle East energy centres, via Newcastle. We are
delighted to bring you eight pages of highly pertinent
news and features, also appearing as a stand-alone
publication, distributed by our partner NOF Energy,
the leading business development organisation for
companies involved in the UK oil, gas and energy sectors.
Our particular focus this time is on the drive to cut costs to
reflect lower oil prices.
THE EASTERN AIRWAYS TEAM
ENERGY EXTRA
Welcome to Energy Extra, your special supplement to
Eastern Airways Magazine. Energy Extra aims to bring
news and reviews from across the energy sector, focusing
on the offshore scene, but also looking at both renewables
and some new, sometimes controversial, energy sources.
Eastern Airways serves no fewer than 14 destinations
from Aberdeen, the UK’s energy industry capital. These
include the important links with our partner Widerøe,
to Bergen and Stavanger – Norway’s oil industry centre –
and the dedicated services from Aberdeen to the Shetland
airports of Scatsta and Sumburgh, operated by Eastern
NEWS UPDATE
MAERSK GETS THUMBS UP
TO DEVELOP CULZEAN FIELD
Maersk Oil said its plans
to develop the field were
boosted by tax changes
announced recently
by Chancellor George
Osborne.
The Culzean field is expected
to produce enough gas to
meet five per cent of the UK’s
needs at peak production
and holds reserves
equivalent to about a quarter
of a billion barrels of oil.
News that the development
will create more than 400
jobs and support a further
6,000 is especially welcome
to an industry that has felt
the pressure since oil prices
slumped.
© Paul Carter
The UK Oil & Gas Authority
has given the green light to
production on the largest
new oil and gas field to have
been discovered in the North
Sea for a decade.
n BBC Springwatch presenter and naturalist Chris
Packham will be a key speaker at the industry-heralded
environmental event, E-Reps Forum, on October 7 at
the Thistle Aberdeen Airport Hotel.
This publication is produced as a supplement to Eastern Airways Magazine.
Eastern Airways is Europe’s leading provider of fixed-wing air services for the
oil and gas industry and, thanks to its strategic connections from Aberdeen and
Stavanger, an important player in the offshore energy sector.
www.easternairways.com
www.nofenergy.co.uk
Cover: Still animation of Maersk Oil’s new Culzean gasfield
Installation of jacket on
Culzean gasfield
Published for Eastern Airways by Gravity Magazines, Abbey Business Centre, Pity
Me, Durham, DH1 5JZ. www.gravity-consulting.com Tel: +44 (0)191 383 2838.
Publisher: Stan Abbott
Design: Barbara Allen
Advertising: Liz Reekie Tel: +44 (0) 7563 796103 / +44 (0) 1434 240947
e-mail: [email protected]
Print: Buxton Press
ISSN: 2044-7124 © September 2015
iii
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SUBSEA SUPPLIES
EXPANSION MOVES
ENERGY EXTRA
NEWS UPDATE
Subsea Supplies has almost doubled
the size of its office and warehouse
facilities in Aberdeen in support of its
strategic growth plans.
The company, which supplies cables,
components and connectors to
firms operating in underwater-related
industries, has relocated to larger
premises at Bridge of Don.
Sales Manager Pauline McCann said:
“The office move has allowed us to
enhance our product range to deliver
an even better service to clients,
many of whom are long-standing.”
LEFT Pauline McCann and Director
Andy Smith
DECOMMISSIONING
HELP FROM MAGMA
Aberdeen-based Magma Products has
launched a new software system aimed
at minimising decommissioning time
and costs while maximising returns
from decommissioned materials and
equipment.
SMS NEW FACILITIES
ON STREAM SOON
SMS, a leading service provider and
manufacturer of hydraulic, pneumatic
and electrical control systems, is due to
complete its new manufacturing facilities
in Great Yarmouth in November.
The £3 million investment is aimed at
ensuring that SMS continues to meet
the rising global demand for its products
and services. Gary Morrow, Business
Development Director, pictured above,
said: “In the international oil and gas
market times are challenging but
SMS continues to grow by constantly
striving to provide ‘added value’ to our
customers.”
SMS – part of the Alderley Group – is
also a leading supplier of Intervention
Workover Control Systems (IWOCs)
HPUs and associated intervention
equipment.
The Decommissioning Management
System (DCMS) provides
companies with a start-to-finish
route through the complexities and
regulatory requirements involved in
decommissioning.
The company also has offices in Great
Yarmouth, Houston and Bucharest.
BELOW Paul Rushton, Magma MD
MOVING UP AT
INFINITY
Alan Golightly, is the new Chief
Executive at Infinity Resources
International.
He has been promoted to the CEO
role having previously been Chief
Operating Officer with the Aberdeenbased upstream oil and gas industry
recruitment specialist.
Alan takes over from Martin Finnie who
is moving to South East Asia to pursue
a new business challenge. Martin will
move into a non-executive director
role and will remain a shareholder with
Infinity.
ABOVE Alan with Amanda Dornan,
founder and Director at Infinity
Resources International
v
ENERGY EXTRA
THE COST CUTTERS
Even before the oil price slump, which
caused the current oil and gas industry
crisis, UK costs had spiralled out of
control and steps were being taken to
make very necessary changes.
The cost of operations on the UK
Continental Shelf (UKCS) had more than
doubled over the previous five years,
meaning that it was costing around $30
to produce a barrel of oil, and production
efficiency had fallen from 81 per cent in
2004 to just 60 per cent in 2012.
At the end of last year, almost 20 per
cent of production was loss-making at a
$50 oil price and, over the year, that loss
amounted to more than £4 billion across
the basin.
The industry has faced similar challenges
in the past, but has generally been
rescued by a high oil price. This time
that has not happened and the focus
has been on looking at opportunities to
make changes to ensure the industry is
sustainable in a low oil-price world.
POSITIVE RESULTS
Bacho Foto
A production cost of $20 a barrel has
frequently been mentioned as a nominal
target to ensure the UK is able compete
for global investment, protect existing
infrastructure, maximise economic
recovery of the country’s oil and gas
resources, and safeguard jobs.
vi
To achieve these goals, the industry is
driving a number of projects to improve
efficiency – some of which are already
yielding positive results, if the recent
figures issued by the Department for
Energy in August are anything to go by.
Estimates are that oil and gas production
from the UKCS for the first six months
The collapse in world oil
prices has accelerated an
essential process of cost
reduction in the UK oil and
gas industry, writes
Graeme Smith…
of 2015 could have increased by 2.5 per
cent since the same period last year.
While thousands of jobs have been lost
in the industry this year, there are now
clear signs of innovative and sustainable
measures being put in place by operators
and contractors.
Nexen, for example, looked at how
the Sky cycling team’s “aggregation of
marginal gains” helped bring Olympic
and Tour de France domination and
engaged its workforce to identify
potential marginal gains. This approach
helped increase wrench time by 40 per
cent – meaning that skilled maintenance
staff now spend more of their time dong
what they are paid to do, rather than
travelling or wasting time sourcing parts.
BP has improved its management of
inventory to reduce lead times in getting
critical spare parts offshore, and reduce
waste from the purchase and storage of
excess materials.
Over the past five decades the company
had built up a very large inventory in
many locations and the complexity and
excess often meant long lead times in
transporting materials offshore and the
consequent delays frequently impacted
on production.
A number of improvements were
identified, including better materials
cataloguing, disposal of surplus spare
parts and a reduction in the number of
storage locations being used.
The number of storage locations has
more than halved from 120 to 48, greatly
reducing costs. The number of inventory
items has also halved from 158,000 to
75,000 and around $32 million has been
generated by disposing of scrap and
materials identified as surplus to the
company’s needs.
INCREASED INPUT
BP is also participating in an Oil & Gas
UK workgroup focusing on the use of
inventory. Through collaboration with
other operators, materials are being
shared, inventories are being slimmed
down and required materials are being
made available more quickly. Total is improving the efficiency of its
UKCS field operations by encouraging
offshore teams to use visualisation
techniques to help improve the process
of planning operations and maintenance
activities. This encourages increased
input and participation of supervisors,
technicians and operators and has
achieved a 12 per cent improvement in
the completion of planned tasks in its first
three months.
Centrica held a “hackathon” of ideas
with suppliers, aimed at reducing the
costs on projects, and generated scores
of possibilities by adopting the method
often used by software developers and
programmers, who get together to share
ENERGY EXTRA
problems and combine their strengths
to solve them.
BG Group is making its offshore
platforms more efficient by significantly
reducing “dead time” on installations
and empowering the offshore
workforce to carry out scheduling and
planning.
By enabling employees offshore, rather
than logistics coordinators based
onshore, to manage materials, plan
projects and schedule jobs, the right
parts, people and processes should be
in place when a job is due to begin.
NEW APPROACH
Advanced Industrial Solutions has
created a whole new approach to
training, offering real cost savings,
which could have a significant impact
on training budgets for the sector.
The company has invested millions
of pounds to create a state-of-the-art
150,000 square-foot offshore training
village on North Tyneside. It offers
emergency response, sea survival
and wind energy, as well as CompEx
electrical, rigging and lifting and more
than 120 other courses. It has also
developed an onsite hotel, which
allows people to get all the skills they
need in one accessible, affordable
location with onsite accommodation
from just £29 per night.
The hope is that this will eliminate
the need for employers to manage
bookings and bills for multiple courses,
in addition to often costly hotels and
travel.
Deirdre Michie, Oil & Gas UK’s
Chief Executive, said: “Our industry
continues to operate in a really
challenging business environment,
in which tough decisions have to be
made to ensure the sector adopts a
leaner, stronger and safer business
model to reinforce its resilience in the
face of future economic challenges.
“These examples of companies
transforming the way they work remind
us that this is a ‘can do’ industry
capable of taking the initiative, working
more cooperatively and responding
positively to the challenge of becoming
more cost-efficient in a low oil-price
world, which is essential if we are to
attract fresh investment into the basin
and ensure a sustainable future for the
industry.”
ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL
SOLUTIONS HAS
CREATED A WHOLE
NEW APPROACH TO
TRAINING, OFFERING
REAL COST SAVINGS
Advanced Industrial Solutions training centre
vii
Raising Standards
Lowering Costs
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